San Joaquin County EEO office to recruit 14 additional EEO coordinators, set training through 2028

David Davis, an EEO staff member, reported that San Joaquin County currently has 44 active EEO complaints and outlined a multi-year plan to expand and train the county’s EEO coordinators.

Davis told the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee that 8 of the 44 active complaints are being investigated internally and the remainder are handled by external law firms. He said that, so far in 2025, the county has received 16 formal complaints and 12 informal complaints.

The EEO office adopted a SMART goal to increase the number of trained EEO coordinators by 25% — from 55 to 69 — by June 30, 2028. The recruitment will be internal only; Davis said the office will identify candidate profiles within departments, reach out to managers and appointing authorities, and prioritize departments that currently lack coordinators.

Implementation steps Davis described include: a needs assessment across county departments to locate shortfalls; internal outreach to appointing authorities and supervisors; candidate identification; onboarding and orientation for newly appointed coordinators; mentorship pairing between experienced and new coordinators; and monitoring and evaluation of recruitment and training outcomes.

For training, the EEO office plans to revise existing curricula to meet “rule 20” requirements and applicable local and state laws, to offer four training sessions per calendar year beginning in 2026, and to cap sessions at 10 coordinators each (40 seats per year). Davis said the office will prioritize newly recruited coordinators and current coordinators who have not previously completed training, with the aim of reaching the target 69 by June 30, 2028.

Davis said the EEO team will hold biweekly meetings through Sept. 30 to finalize training content and will collect participant feedback after sessions to refine the program. Rachel Novetzky, assistant director of human resources, clarified that at the informal level EEO coordinators are expected to conduct initial fact-finding to determine whether matters fall under Civil Service Rule 20; formal investigations are handled by the EEO office or assigned investigators.

The EEO office emphasized that the coordinator role is an added, peripheral duty and does not require supervisory status; candidates may be employees at any level. Departments that have identified potential coordinators were asked to forward names to EEO staff for inclusion on recruitment lists.