2023-09-29 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board September 29, 2023 CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Can you explain to the Board about the intern positions, the workers' comp. positions, and the temporary on-call positions. Because from my understanding when I worked at the department, those were not filled regularly. They were filled as needed. Is that correct? MR. PATEL: Yes. That's correct. So, I'll start with the workers' comp. positions. Those are, basically—we manage those positions. They're used for light duty when someone in a department is on work comp. We, sort of—they're housed with us. We loan them out, if you will, to the various departments. The intern positions, that's new. So, we just got funding for that in the current fiscal year budget. We're working to create a program, essentially, that would take interns and place them within various departments. So, it's a new thing we're starting on that hasn't gotten up and running, yet. And then, as far as the 20 temp. on-call positions that, also, is new. That's a pilot program we have with our Parks Department where, essentially, we're setting upactually, that's supposed to go live October Iso, very shortly. It's, essentially, casual workers—when park caretakers call out and they need someone immediately to come in, it gives them a list of availablea pool of workers that we can pull from. Those would not be civil service positions. CHR. CABANAS: And how did you get that pool? MR. PATEL: Actually, parks with their contacts. So, because it's a pilot program, it's sort of like the workers' comp. where it's housed with us. We worked on setting up the procedures under us for them to have temp. on-call positions that wouldn't result in them having the usual, I guess, liabilities attached—so the benefits, the long-term benefits, the inclusion in the BU01 bargaining unit. CHR. CABANAS: So, how do they get individuals on this on-call list—it's like a list? MR. PATEL: Yes. So, through parks contacts they, essentially, pool from their list of known people who might be available. Typically, it's landscape workers in a community that have their own business. And then, in effect, it works sort of like a temporary appointment outside of an eligible list type of a system. So, a TAOL. So, you don't have the usual recruitment procedures. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. So, on the books it's 85 positions the department has but you have 31 regular, full-time—plus you have the director and deputy. Four vacant civil service positions. Correct? MR. PATEL: Correct. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. Page 11