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CITY OF Los ANGELES
BOARD OF C IVIL SERVICE
COMMISSIONERS
ROOM 206. C ITY HAL.I. SoUTH
CASIM IRO U. TOLENTINO
PRESIDENT
ANTHONY OE I.OS REYES
VICE· PRESIOENT
CLARE BRONOWSKI
JULIE P. DEPOIAN
REV KENNETH J . FLOWERS
SYLVIA G TROWBRIDGE
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT·SECRETARY
February 1, 1991
Honorable Tom Bradley
Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Honorable Members of the
CALIFORNIA
TOM BRADLEY'
MAYOR
City Council, City of Los Angeles
1989 - 90 ANNUAL REPORT
PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT
ROOM 100. C ITY HAI.I. Soun~
I 1 I EAST F IRST STRECT
I.OS A NGEL.ES. CA 90012
JOHN J . DRISCOLL
GENERAL. MANAGER
During fiscal year 1989 - 90, the Personnel Department continued to
be challenged to develop innovative programs and services which
addressed broad social and environmental concerns while continuing
to fulfill its primary function of personnel selection. I am
pleased to report that utilizing our 450.5 authorized positions and
with an annual budget of $163,946,893, we were able to address new
concerns , as well as provide the traditional personnel programs and
services to the Mayor, City Council, operating aepartments,
employees, and the public.
Among the ongoing Personnel Department programs of the past fiscal
year, the following stand out as particularly important for
Department and City operations :
- In April, 1990, the Personnel Department's Commuter Services
Office began operations, offering commuting alternatives and
information to all City employees and developing the Transit
Subsidy Program and Vanpool Program;
- Through a new, more aggressive approach to recruitment, we
were able to hire a record high number of 987 Police
Officers, a 29% increase over fiscal year 1988-89, including
records in terms of the number of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians,
and females hired;
Personnel staff assisted in the implementation of new
programs and development of appropriate staffing programs
for the two new City departments , the Department of
Environmental Quality and the Department of Housing
Production and Preservation;
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- The City Hall South Child Care Center became ful ly
operational, providing conferences and seminars addressing
a variety of child care issues, and providing support in
policy making and day care development;
- OHSD implemented a new Hepatitis B Vaccine immunization
program and a 24-hour Hotline designed to provide immediate
medical counseling and treatment for employees who sustained
blood exposure with risk of HIV and Hepatitis B virus
exposure;
- To create a better understanding of diversity within the
City, a Cultural Diversity Awareness Training Program
was developed in addition to a Training Coordinators'
Handbook designed to assist department-bureau training
coordinators to more effectively perform their duties;
- In November, 1989, the Systems Support Division was created,
managing the development of the Los Angeles Human Resources
System and providing office automation support and
maintenance of the Candidate Application Processing System;
- After analyzing the City's current benefits structure and
surveying employee interest, progress has continued on the
·design and implementation of a flexible benefits program;
- In compliance with the Workers' Compensation Improvement Act
of 1989, new procedures were implemented to provide for more
disability benefits and improvements in the benefit delivery
system and the dispute process;
- And, finally, to meet new program requirements imposed by
Senate Bill 198 and Cal/OSHA General Industry Safety Order
3203, a new City Safety Manual was created.
Though we have accomplished much this past fiscal year, we
constantly re-evaluate current programs and services to focus our
Department efforts toward meeting our primary goals and objectives,
as well as our newly assigned responsibilities. Througn the
dedication and commitment of Department staff and the Board of
Civil Service Commissioners, I am sure we will meet the challenges
o~1 th;s ne;~~iscal yea:~,
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John J .I Driscoll
General Manager
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THE PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT
The Personnel Department provides a wide range of services in
various functiona l areas , including personnel selection, personnel
management, occupational health and safety , and general
administration and support. Each of the functiona l areas is
discussed in this report .
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PERSONNEL SELECTION - THE PRIMARY FUNCTION
Personnel Selection, with a special emphasis on EEO and Affirmative
Action, represents the principal function of the Department.
Classification, recruitment, police and fire selection, and
examining are the essential activities · within the function.
CLASSIFICATION DIVISION
The Classification Division's primary responsibility is to maintain
the integrity of the City's Classification Plan. The
Classification Plan is amended when there are new work programs,
departmental reorganizations, or the implementation of new
technologies.
Division analysts act as direct liaisons with City departments and
bureaus. They review, analyze, and prepare recommendations on
requests by operating departments for a variety of human resource
management services. In response to these requests, the analysts
must consider both the needs of the operating department and the
rights of the employees.
The services provided by the Division include:
- allocation and reallocation of positions;
- review of certification requests for new and limited
positions;
- emergency appointments;
- exemptions of classes, positions, or individuals from Civil
Service;
- class consolidations;
- class-level determinations;
- review of examination bulletins;
- pay grade advancement procedures;
- investigation of out-of-class allegations;
- candidate reinstatement to eligible lists following
probationary termination;
- determination of layoff and displacement rights .
A major responsibility of the Classification Division is revising
class specifications to describe their current duties and
requirements. In fiscal year 1989-90 Division staff revised 140
specifications and created 23 new classifications which the Civil
Service Commission adopted.
The city Council established two new City departments, the
Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Housing
Preservation and Production. In addition, the Department of
Building and Safety created the Coordinating Division within the
Building Bureau, and the Library Department reorganized its
Technical Services Division. Classification Division staff
assisted both of these departments in implementing new programs and
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developing appropriate staffing programs.
The Division completed a major detailed study of the accounting and
auditing class series. Classification staff also participated in
a detailed study of three complex administrative classes in the
Department of Water and Power.
The Classification Division continued to exchange classification
and salary information with various Federal, state, County, and
Municipal government agencies as well as professional organizations
nationwide . During the 1989-90 fiscal year the Division contacted
over 150 agencies and organizations.
The Classification Division revised the class specifications to
more clearly describe the affirmative action responsibilities of
all supervisory level classes. The Division began to review all
personal services contracts entered into by the City to determine
whether any City classes could perform the work. Finally, staff
conducted several "Client Relations Meetings" with operating
departments during the fiscal year.
RECRUITMENT DIVISION
GENERAL RECRUITMENT
As a result of the Recruitment Division's comprehensive recruitment
efforts, 82,258 applications for employment were accepted this past
fiscal year. Significantly, 83% of the applicants were minorities
and/or women, including 35.4% Black, 22.6% Hispanic, 18.8% Asian
and 34.2% Female.
The Personnel Department recruiters participated in over 85 major
job fairs and City Career presentations sponsored by community
based organizations, including 30 in high unemployment areas of the
City.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION RECRUITMENT
During its second year of operation, the Affirmative Action
Recruitment Unit (AARU) continued many of the activities aimed at
improving the City's representation of minorities and females, with
a particular emphasis on increasing the City's Hispanic
representation. These affirmative action activities included:
conducting community outreach recruitment; recruiting minority
Management Assistant candidates; and collaborating with community,
educational, and professional organizations on activities related
to the AARU's objectives.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH RECRUITMENT
The AARU conducted City Career Expos in four different communities,
including East Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles, the
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Westside/Venice area, and a special Women's Careers Unlimited
Conference in the downtown Civic Center. The Expos collectively
drew over 5,000 participants who applied for City jobs, received
counseling, and participated in a variety of career seminars.
Of 4,648 applications received for ·entry-level civil service
examinations at these community events, 94% (4,366) were from
minority applicants .
MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT RECRUITMENT
Management Assistant, the City's entry- level administrative
position, was the focus of continuous recruitment activities
throughout the year. These efforts included participation in
college career fairs and print advertising in various college and
university publications and such publications as Hispanic Magazine,
Hispanic Business, Hispanic Hotline, Winds of Change, and Career
Research Systems.
POLICE AND FIRE SELECTION DIVISION
ENTRY-LEVEL SELECTION
POLICE OFFICER
Fiscal Year 1989-90 represented a record year in which 987 Police
Officers were hired and entered the Police Academy, a 29% increase
over the previous record of 768 established in fiscal year 1988-89.
Last fiscal year also produc~d records in terms of the number of
Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and females hired as compared to any
previous year. Even though the 1980 Consent Decree mandates a
combined hiring rate for Blacks and Hispanics of 45%, last year's
new hires of Blacks and Hispanics totalled 51% (20% Blacks, 31%
Hispanics). Continued p r ogress was also made at increasing the
representation of Asians. Al though not covered by the Consent
Decree, the number of Asians entering the Police Academy went from
35 in 1988-89 to 56 in 1989-90. In addition, a total of 226 women
were hired, accounting for 23% of all Police Officers hired. While
this is just shy of the 25% goal required under the Consent Decree,
there was a sufficient overage in female hiring since 1980 to more
than offset the shortage. In June of 1990, the Police Department
celebrated the milestone of having over 1000 female Police Officers
on the force for the· first time in its history .
During the 10 years since the Consent Decree was initiated,
significant efforts have been made to have the police force reflect
the composition of the Los Angeles community. The following is a
comparison showing the progress towards that goal:
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Black
Hispanic
Asian*
Female
GOALS
CONSENT POLICE
DECREE DEPT .
10.9%
2 4. 6%
2 0 . 0%
30.0%
7.0%
*Not covered by Consent Decree
FIREFIGHTER
SWORN STAFFING LEVELS
PRE-CONSENT DECREE JUNE 19 90
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457
7 19 ·
90
178
6 . 7%
10.6%
1. 3%
2.6%
1114
1745
2 34
1 046
13 . 4%
21. 0%
2 .7%
12.6%
The Firefighter examination is administered on a continuous basis
under a Consent Decree which provides for an annual hiring goal to
retain Firefighter recruits at the rate of at least 50% from
minority groups (Blacks, Hispanics and Asians combined). To
maintain a balanced eligible list, the Firefighter wri tten tes t was
administered in May, 1990, calling approximately 1 0 ,000 candi d ates
to test for fiscal year 1 989-90.
Though females are not specified in the Consent Decree , the
Personnel and Fire Departments have actively sought to increase
their representation in the fire service. To improve the retention
of female recruits, four Female Tutorial Program cycles a i med at
preparing women for Firefighter careers were started during the
past fiscal year.
Of the 90 recruits appointed during the year, 60% were minorities
and 16.7% were females. The Fire Department has continued to use
a Modular Drill Tower approach to traini1~ which enables them to
retain and recycle certain candidates needing additional training
in a specific area .
PARAMEDIC
The examination for Paramedic is held approximatel y once every two
years. In July of 1989, nearly s,ooo candidates applied for the
Par amedic examination. As a result of t hat examination, l , 1 25
eligible cand idates were added to the Par amedic list as shown
below :
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Caucasian
TOTAL
Femal e
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181
288
78
578
1 125
256
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16 . 1%
25.6%
6.9%
51. 4%
100.0%
22 . 8%
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PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION UNIT
During fiscal year 1989-90, the Promotional Examination Unit
substantially increased the number of continuous examinations
administered to meet the operating needs of the Police Department.
The examination for Station Officer was modified which reduced the
average days to completion from 239 to 142 days, thus allowing for
greater efficiency and more staff time to conduct more
administrations. In total the Unit completed 55% more examinations
than the prior year (31 vs. 20), and also completed two validation
studies for the classes of Fire Assistant Chief and Police
commander.
In a continuing effort to improve the manner in which sworn
examinations are administered, the Police Commander examination was
given for the first time using an In Basket Management Exercise, an
oral Presentation Exercise and a General Qualifications Interview.
SWORN RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES
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During fiscal year 1989-90, record numbers of candidates were
recruited to take the Police Officer written test. The ethnic and
sex breakdowns of candidates recruited are as follows:
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Caucasian
TOTAL
Female
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3,750
4,412
1,045
6.409
15,616
3,337
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24.0%
28.2%
6.7%
39.1%
100.0%
21.4%
These figures represent a 30% increase over last fiscal year in
total Police Officer candidates recruited. This was accomplished
through a wide variety of Police Officer recruitment events and our
four weekly test sites throughout the Los Angeles area (Wilshire
Division, El Sereno, Van Nuys Division, and the Police Academy) •
A list of the significant special events held for Police Officer
recruitment are as follows:
-Police Officer Recruitment Beach Days
-Black Churches Recruitment Event
-Police Academy Expo (over 8,000 in attendance)
-Women's career Conference (over 500 women in attendance)
-Military Recruitment Events (on base)
-Asian Recruitment & Law Enforcement Expo
-Northern California Recruitment Sweep
Recruitment seminars were also held in over 40 different cities
from San Francisco to San Diego. Most seminars held outside the
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County of Los Angeles not only involved the administration of the
written test, but also conducting on-site oral interviews. A total
of 75 special events and seminars were held during fiscal year
1989-90, a 48% increase in recruitment events over fiscal year
1988-89.
In order to meet our Consent Decree goals for women and minorities
and our hiring goal of over 900 new officers, the Personnel and
Police Departments developed a new, more aggressive approach to
Police Officer recruitment. With the guidance of the new
Recruitment Media Director, success was achieved in attracting mass
media exposure for all of the major recruitment events, for several
of the recruitment seminars and for Police Officer recruitment in
general. A total of 42 Police Officer radio interviews were
conducted, Police Officers appeared on 4 different television
public service shows, and over 30 newspaper articles have been
published regarding Los Angeles Police Officer recruitment.
Other new and innovative recruitment activities engaged in during
the 1989-90 fiscal year were as follows:
-purchase of minority mailing list for direct
mailing
-press conferences including presentations by Mayor
Bradley
-mall and grocery store recruitment booths
-aerial banner flown over beaches during summer months
-the conversion of the Police Officer recruitment public
service announcement into 7 Asian languages
-recruitment slides shown in movie theaters in high
minority areas
-LAPD recruitment message displayed on scoreboard during
Raider and Dodger home games
-1.5 million recruitment pamphlets mailed out in DWP
bills
-bus shelter recruitment posters
As a result of the overall effort of the Personnel and Police
Departments, 987 new Police Officers were hired during fiscal year
1989-90. The following is the ethnic and sex breakdown:
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Black 197 20.0%
Hispanic 303 31.0%
Asian 56 5.0%
Caucasian 431 44.0%
TOTAL 987 100.0%
Female 226 23.0%
On June 30, 1990, all 514 new Police Officer positions authorized
by the City Council and 473 vacancies resulting from attrition were
filled. Hiring goals and ethnic Consent Decree goals for the
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fiscal year were met.
FIREFIGHTER
Throughout fiscal year 1989-90, Firefighter recruitment focused
primarily on attracting qualified Black and female candidates, due
to the fact that the applicant flow from other ethnic groups w
sufficient for testing purposes. In addition to the more rout'ne
recruitment efforts (Black and female oriented radio and news per
advertising) three Female Firefighter Orientations and one emale
Firefighter Expo were held, which netted over 500 pros ective
female Firefighter candidates. The Female Firefighter E o, held
at Fire Station #3, in the downtown area, received both elevision
and newspaper media coverage.
PARAMEDIC
In an effort to accommodate a high volume o candidates for
Paramedic, the Personnel Department changed fr a one day filing
period to an eight day filing period, includi two Saturdays. As
a result, approximately 5, 000 applications were received. The
extensive recruitment efforts included th distribution of a new
Paramedic brochure, distribution of flyers, and radio and newspaper
advertisements.
EXAMINING DIVISION
The Examining Division is responsi e for test development for all
job classes in City employment, except uniform classes such as
police officer and firefighter The Division consists of five
sections. Four secti s (Adminis~rative/Professional,
Clerical/Miscellaneous, Engi eering/Technical, and Skilled Craft)
are responsible for deve oping the examinations. The fifth
section, Test Research/V idation, assists the other sections in
ensuring that examina ons adequately test for the skills,
knowledges and abilit' s currently required by the various City
Departments, providin specialized information on job classes, and
conducting personne research which may affect testing .
The end product o developing examinations is providing departments
with lists of igible candidates in a timely manner from which
qualified per nnel may be hired . In fiscal year 1989-90, the
Division exc eded its goal for timely completion of examinations
with 91% of he examinations completed in 240 days (goal was 80%),
and 76% examinations completed in 180 days (goal was 50%) •
Addition lly, even with the freeze in hiring instituted in April
1990, e number of examinations announced and completed showed a
sligh increase over the previous fiscal year. For fiscal year
1989 90, 288 examinations were announced (up from 268 in the
pr ious year), and 798 eligible lists were established (up from
7 2 in the previous year).
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