2022-04-08 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board April 8, 2022 hiring correspondence through NeoGov to verify that status—we trace this information, on-site, through NeoGov and found no exceptions. This replaced decentralizing informal communications. We consider the status completed. "Recommendation" number "5" we recommend the Department of Human Resources provide mandatory ongoing hiring procedures and merit principles training for all employees involved in this hiring process. I attended this training a few weeks ago. DHR conducted 62 classes. DHR trained 1,040 individuals. To verify the status, we reviewed the class agenda and sign -in sheets. We found no exceptions. We just feel that this further strengthens and unifies the understanding approach and expectations required with hiring individuals based on their merit and not in the relationships that they've got. We consider the status to be completed. All right. So, "Recommendation" number "6"we recommend the Department of Human Resources use open -competitive recruitments on a continuous basis for difficult to fill classes of work. DHR closed all continuous recruitments in December of 2016 with the noted exception of the Clerk III position, the number of vacancies that were being offered for the position were greater than the number of applicants that were applying. To verity the status, we reviewed job postings for those four classes of work identified in the prior audits the 29 recruitments or 100% of the testing population and we found no exceptions. This replaces the practice of continuous recruitment for positions that were not difficult to fill and we consider this recommendation completed. "Recommendation 7we recommend the Department of Human Resources develop and implement written policies and procedures clearly defining prohibited personnel hiring practices. In October 2018, DHR developed, adopted, and circulated the "Human Resources Best Practices" as a foundation of their actions and decisions. To verify the status, we reviewed the documents related to the merit principle and information related the education and dissemination of those materials. As I had stated before, we offer some additional opportunities to strengthen these internal controls. For example, DHR should clearly define, develop, and implement written policies and procedures to address prohibited hiring practices to ensure future Administrations adhere to applicable federal and state laws, their rules, and the County's policies and procedures. We do feel that in practice, the department is doing very well right now. That isn't the immediate concern. The immediate concern is that until it is enshrined in policy and procedure that it is easily dismantled by somebody who may have malign intent. And so, we offer this again as a proactive opportunity and we would like to see this enshrined. We would like to see policies and procedures, generally, enshrined among a lot of departments who are doing things by word of mouth. Page 16