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County holds required AB 2561 hearing: vacancy rate 13.9%; three bargaining units exceed 20%
Summary
San Joaquin County reported a 13.9% overall vacancy rate to the Board of Supervisors and identified three bargaining units above the 20% threshold required under AB 2561.
San Joaquin County conducted the annual public hearing required by Assembly Bill 2561 to disclose vacancy rates and recruitment efforts for the 12-month period ending Feb. 28, 2025.
The countywide vacancy rate: Human Resources reported a countywide vacancy rate of 13.9 percent (1,064 vacancies out of 7,652 positions).
Units above 20%: HR identified three bargaining units exceeding the 20% threshold specified in state law: - Peace-officer investigative unit (District Attorney Investigators): 38.33% vacancy; 56 allocated positions with 21 currently vacant (transcript time noted a significant backlog of hiring and active recruitments underway). - Physicians and psychiatrists (UAPD / physicians unit, non-civil service): 37.86% vacancy, reflecting challenges recruiting specialty clinicians. - Safety, investigative and custodial unit (SCIU): 23.36% vacancy, including juvenile-detention classifications that require specialized recruitment and long background checks.
Recruitment efforts and results: Human Resources reported 643 civil-service recruitments over the year, 23,944 applications processed, 127 paid outreach campaigns and 8 community recruitment events. HR also noted 713 civil-service new hires during the 12-month window and 248 conversions from part-time to full-time civil-service positions. Specialized incentives were paid to some hard-to-recruit classifications, and the department ran continuous recruitments for difficult-to-fill classes.
Union presentations: Employee organizations representing District Attorney investigators, deputy county attorneys and correctional officers addressed the board: - DA Investigators Association highlighted the unit's public-safety role, the average 26 years of law-enforcement experience among investigators, the 38.33% vacancy rate and recent recruitment steps; the association said improved background procedures should produce faster hires and that a number of candidates were in processing. - San Joaquin County Attorneys Association described long-term attrition of mid-career trial attorneys to higher-paying counties and urged exploration of targeted retention measures and candidate pipelines. - Correctional Officers Association described chronic understaffing in the county's custodial facilities, overtime pressures, burnout and a substantial pay gap relative to deputy sheriff pay that the association said undermines retention.
Board response and next steps: Supervisors thanked HR and union representatives for the reports and asked staff to continue recruitment and retention work. HR said it will follow the law's reporting requirements and continue to expand outreach, internship pipelines and apprenticeship programs. Several supervisors pressed for additional pay- and retention-focused solutions in key categories while noting the county is conducting other hiring and compensation reviews.
