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Kern County employee says legal classifications were reworked, leaving long‑time staff behind
Summary
At the April 8 Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting, a 19‑year county employee urged the board to address a reclassification she says reduced her job title and pay while raising pay for other, lower‑ranked classifications.
Karen Bessard, a 19‑year Kern County employee, told the Board of Supervisors on April 8 that recent job reclassifications in the county’s legal offices have “generalized” legal secretary and paralegal classifications and left long‑serving staff ineligible for positions they previously qualified for.
Bessard said the reclassification has “minimized” her classification even as other positions were regraded upward. She described the legal work expected of staff — “preparation of subpoenas, motions, discoveries, calendaring, service requirements and time constraints” — and said those duties require both legal knowledge and program expertise.
“In my 23 years of experience in the legal field along with another 6 years of non profit experience,” Bessard said, “employees are now applying to lower classifications to receive a raise. They make 99¢ more than me with less job duties.”
Bessard asked the board to consider the effect of the classification changes on experienced staff and noted she had met earlier this year with Supervisor David Flores about affordable housing and rent concerns. The speaker identified herself as a constituent of District 3.
The meeting record does not show a formal board response or a motion tied to Bessard’s comments. Bessard’s remarks were made during the meeting’s public‑presentation period, which the board reserves for items within its jurisdiction but not on the agenda.
No county policy, ordinance, or personnel rule was cited on the record during her remarks.
