County human services agencies: workforce development.

Existing law vests the Department of Human Resources with the jurisdiction and responsibility of establishing and maintaining personnel standards on a merit basis, and administering merit systems for local government agencies where those merit systems of employment are required by statute or regulation as a condition of a state-funded program or a federal grant-in-aid program established under federal law, including, but not limited to, the Social Security Act, as specified. Existing law requires the department, for the purposes of administering those state or federally supported programs, by regulation, to establish and maintain personnel standards on a merit basis for local agencies, as specified, as necessary for proper and efficient administration, and to ensure state conformity with applicable federal requirements. Existing law requires the department to administer the merit system for employees engaged in administering state-funded and federal grant-in-aid programs in a local agency not administering its own merit system, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding those provisions, would require the department, in any state-funded or federal grant-in-aid program, to allow those agencies to use alternate processes to screen applications and establish eligibility lists for recruitment of new staff, and advancement of existing staff. The bill would authorize those alternatives to include allowing counties to screen and establish eligibility lists directly with oversight by the department and implementing alternative examination requirements, as defined, without advance approval by the department. The bill would authorize the alternative processes to be implemented until January 1, 2029.