Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hiring And Personnel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City human resources outlines civil-service process, pledges DBI hiring lists by September
Summary
Human Resources detailed the city's civil-service hiring, testing and referral processes and said DHR has prioritized position-based exams for DBI with lists targeted to be available by September; DBI said it has about 40 vacancies and several recruitments underway.
Human Resources Director Mickie Callahan told the Building Inspection Commission on May 16 that city hiring must follow civil-service and merit-system rules and that DHR is working with the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) to speed hiring through position-based tests and other reforms. The presentation, delivered with DHR recruitment staff, explained how budgeted "position authority" becomes a requisition, how examinations generate eligible lists and how departments conduct post-referral selection and onboarding.
DHR officials described two testing tracks: position-based testing (PBT), intended as an expedited, department-specific process with a 60-day target from announcement close to list adoption, and class-based testing (CBT), a broader process that typically takes longer. John Krause, DHR's assistant deputy director for recruitment and assessment, emphasized legal and technical guardrails: tests must be job-related and defensible from adverse-impact challenges and candidates have multiple points of appeal and inspection during the process. "A test is only measuring what you need to have when you enter the job," Krause said, noting the job-analysis work behind each exam.
Commissioners pressed DHR on operational details: how certification rules (commonly the "rule of three scores") affect who departments must interview, how special conditions such as bilingual requirements are handled, and how DHR can keep eligible lists fresh and available when market demand rises. Kerry Coe of DHR explained that departments may tag a requisition with a special condition (for example, bilingual capability) and that DHR can certify candidates who meet those conditions even if that requires going further down an eligible list.
Ted Yamasaki, a DHR deputy, said the department has committed staff to prioritize DBI classifications and that "lists will be available ... by September," barring unforeseen appeals. DBI Director Pamela Levin told commissioners DBI had filled a number of clerical and engineering positions in recent weeks, scheduled interviews for multiple engineering posts in late May, and estimated roughly 40 vacancies overall; about 25 positions were being held vacant to meet attrition budget assumptions.
Next steps: DHR and DBI will continue to coordinate on priority classes and timelines, and commissioners asked for updated status reports on lists and candidate referrals as the department moves through the PBT schedule.
