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Findings 47 findings
F1
The California State Conservation Camp Program fire camps provide a significant service to California communities, to the local environment, and to the inmates who participate in that program.
F2
Camp Gabilan’s ability to support local fire incidents has been reduced without sufficient substitute in Monterey County.
F3
Camp Gabilan’s ability to provide local ecological conservation projects has been reduced by the reduction in Camp Gabilan’s operating capacity. Photo Credit. . Untitled. Use: 17 USC § 107 Fair Use Date: Tuesday May 1, 2012. Source: CAL FIRE Inyo-Mono-San Bernardino Unit Blog (discontinued) At: http://calfirebdu.blogspot.com/2012/05/fire-crews-participate-in-annual.html?m=1 Reports issued by the Civil Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. Penal Code section 929 requires that reports of the Civil Grand Jury not contain the name of any person or facts leading to the identity of any person who provides information to the Civil Grand Jury. ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS TO PESTICIDE USE INFORMATION An Opportunity for the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office SUMMARY The agricultural industry in Monterey County is a critical driver of economic activity and provides healthy food to consumers around the globe. In support of that activity, the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s website has posted a vast array of information about the use of pesticides, including links to State Agencies and other relevant sources for the use of agricultural pesticides in Monterey County. This information is extensive, but it is currently targeted toward, and most useful to, growers, agricultural workers, pesticide applicators, and other agricultural professionals. Corresponding levels of information on agricultural pesticides that would be useful to County residents, who are not agriculture professionals, is limited. There is an opportunity for the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office to enhance its role as a community resource that presents unbiased, scientifically based facts about pesticides. GLOSSARY MCACO: Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office NGO: non-governmental organizations AI: Active Ingredient BACKGROUND A fundamental pillar of Monterey County’s economy is agriculture. As one of the nation’s top agriculture producers, Monterey County agriculture contributes over $4 billion per year to the County’s direct economic output and has a total estimated impact of over $8.1 billion on the local economy, including generating 73,429 jobs.1 Unlike most 1 See Langholz & DePaolis. Economic Contributions of Monterey County Agriculture 2014. Pp. 2,3 9 crops grown across the United States that are machine harvested, the crops grown in Monterey County are dependent upon a skilled labor force.2 Part of this skilled work force is responsible for the application of crop pesticides. Pesticides are an important part of commercial agriculture in California. The scope of pesticide use is reflected in the 2017 Pesticide Use Report Highlights by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Page two of that report stated that pesticide use for California in 2017 totaled 204.7 million pounds of Active Ingredients (AIs) and 104.3 million cumulative acres treated.3 These figures vary yearly, and vary by county as well. For example, the State-wide total pounds of AIs reported in 2017, represented a 2.0 percent decrease from the 2016 figure. Conversely, the 2017 report’s total acres treated figure was an increase, year-on-year, by 3.3 percent.4 Pesticide use figures for Monterey County, on the other hand, declined for both pounds and acres treated between 2016 and 2017.5 Any investigation about pesticides is complicated. In additional to traditional pesticides like sulfur, 1,3-dichloropropene, glyphosate, and metam-potassium, growers today consider and use items like biopesticides6, petroleum and mineral oils, and highly refined petroleum-based oils, some for newer uses by organic growers.7 For Monterey County, the top five pesticides used by pounds in 2017 are listed in Table 1. From Board of Supervisors. About Monterey. Monterey County Legislative Program. CA Dept of Pesticide Regulation. 2017 Pesticide Use Report Highlights https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/pur17rep/pur_highlights_2017.pdf 4 Ibid. See CA Dept of Pesticide Regulation. Pesticide Use Reporting -2017 Summary Data Text files for all 2017 Annual Report tables and figures files for Monterey County (2016, 2017) ftp://transfer.cdpr.ca.gov/pub/outgoing/pur/data/ 6 Biopesticides is an EPA term for certain types of natural products used to control pests, plant diseases and weeds. (Note: not all-natural products are biopesticides). Marrone, P. (2008) https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/OPIPP/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Pe stConf- Marrone1.pdf 7 CA Dept of Pesticide Regulation. 2017 Pesticide Use Report Highlights https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/pur17rep/pur_highlights_2017.pdf 10 Table 1 - Monterey County, 2017: Top Five Pesticides by Pounds & Sites of Use8 Chemical Commodity Pounds # Apps Acres CHLOROPICRIN (1) STRAWBERRY 2247331 524 8748 CHLOROPICRIN RASPBERRY 44749 11 162 CHLOROPICRIN N-OUTDR FLOWER 4966 4 17 CHLOROPICRIN BLACKBERRY 4022 1 14 SULFUR (2) GRAPE, WINE 607273 4633 135964 SULFUR STRAWBERRY 206040 2066 49360 SULFUR PEAS 23665 393 4503 SULFUR BRUSSELS SPROUT 18791 258 3091 SULFUR CARROT 18749 153 2005 1,3-DICHLOROPROPENE (3) STRAWBERRY 498974 365 7252 1,3-DICHLOROPROPENE GRAPE, WINE 198963 15 628 1,3-DICHLOROPROPENE BRUSSELS SPROUT 63514 49 981 1,3-DICHLOROPROPENE CARROT 16218 10 234 1,3-DICHLOROPROPENE BROCCOLI 15499 3 87 PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, REFINED (4) GRAPE, WINE 739995 3467 126233 PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, REFINED HEMP/CANNABIS 254 29 23 PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, REFINED APPLE 246 2 17 PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, REFINED LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE 102 0 0 PETROLEUM DISTILLATES, REFINED N-GRNHS FLOWER 7 1 0.689 POTASSIUM PHOSPHITE (5) LETTUCE, LEAF 168115 4060 51039 POTASSIUM PHOSPHITE LETTUCE, HEAD 130358 3234 40131 POTASSIUM PHOSPHITE SPINACH 88106 2727 32603 POTASSIUM PHOSPHITE PEAS 19094 505 5859 POTASSIUM PHOSPHITE STRAWBERRY 8930 48 1862 8 Source: CA Dept Pesticide Reg. 2017 Summary Data by County https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/pur/pur17rep/top_5_ais_sites_lbs_2017.htm 11 It is important to note that the laws and policies governing pesticide use are promulgated by Federal and State agencies. Monterey County is tasked with enforcing those laws and policies, and the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office (MCACO) is its enforcement arm. MCACO has Federal, State, and Monterey County program funding. Its County budget is approximately $11 million per year9 and about $3 million of that amount is used to oversee pesticide use.10 This oversight includes ensuring local compliance with Federal and State mandates for inspections, disclosures of pesticide use, pesticide application monitoring, worker safety, and public safety programs. As part of this effort, MCACO monitors, collects, and reports all data on commercial pesticide use for Monterey County. This work makes MCACO a key source for unbiased, scientifically based data about pesticide use in Monterey County. In addition to County-based MCACO-generated data, the MCACO website provides links to federal, state, academic, and research materials concerning most aspects of pesticide use in agriculture. This combination of local data and linked resources are focused on, and primarily used by, the agriculture industry. These data are not currently distributed or made available in a consumer-friendly form to the local community. Today, Monterey County residents and consumers can register complaints about any pesticide-related incident11 on the MCACO website, but they would be challenged to find useful, consumer-focused tips about the pesticides used on their local produce on that same website. County of Monterey Recommended Budget FY2019-2020. pg. 45: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=77798 10 Office of the Agricultural Commissioner. (2020). Pesticide Use & Enforcement, accessed: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-a-h/agricultural-commissioner/agricultural- resource-programs/pesticide-use-enforcement#ag 11 See MCACO website https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-a-h/agricultural- commissioner/agricultural-resource-programs/pesticide-use-enforcement/file-a-complaint#ag 12 METHODOLOGY The Civil Grand Jury investigated the nature and scope of public information available using the following methodology: • By reviewing relevant Federal and State official websites with a focus on pesticide use in Monterey County, and then cross referencing these data with information available on the MCACO website. • By examining commercial, third-party NGO/agriculture action groups, and other stakeholder organization websites relating to pesticide use in Monterey County. • By identifying and reviewing relevant information from commercial and scientific journals published by academic and research organizations. • By interviews with MCACO. DISCUSSION The Civil Grand Jury’s investigation focused on MCACO’s ability to provide relevant information that promotes general public awareness regarding pesticides and their use in the County. As noted above, MCACO’s current pesticide efforts are largely concentrated on commercial farming and crops. MCACO’s outreach is essential for local agriculture stakeholders and has a heavy focus on policies that affect how crops are raised, while also ensuring adequate workplace safety protocols are known and followed for all aspects of pesticide use. However, in order to make informed choices for their families, Monterey County consumers also must have access to accurate and useful information about the pesticides used in our crops. Finally, concerned NGO’s or even third-party agriculture action groups could better serve the public if they had access to consumer-focused factual and unbiased pesticide information when they seek to promote initiatives with the public. On this point, the Civil Grand Jury concluded that there is a prevalent and genuine need for residents of Monterey County and other interest groups to have access to unbiased, scientifically reviewed information about pesticides. The Civil Grand Jury acknowledged that MCACO already conducts certain initiatives or action related to educating the general public. However, it also noted that the MCACO website does not leverage its resources or its MCACO data in webpages that present a straightforward platform for the general public. Expanding the MCACO website to be more consumer friendly in presenting MCACO pesticide information would be a major step to meet this need. The Civil Grand Jury also concluded that another type of information gap exists. The MCACO website has professional links and pesticide resources (alluded to above) for agricultural professionals. However, it lacks an equivalent breadth of connections to government, industry, or scholarly pesticide resources that are tailored toward the public’s need for pesticide-relevant information. To meet this need, equivalent pesticide resources that target general public pesticide topics could be included on a MCACO consumer-focused webpage. These resources do exist. The Civil Grand Jury investigation found sources such as: the National Center for Biotechnology Information (Pesticide Residues in Food: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Misconceptions among Conventional and Organic Consumers)12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Is food grown using pesticides safe to eat?)13, and even California’s own Department of Pesticide Regulation (Pesticides and Food: How We Test for Safety)14 as examples of consumer-focused pesticide related links that could benefit the County’s residents. The Civil Grand Jury noted and agreed with an article posted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine that stated: “…the ability of consumers to obtain and understand 12 See NCBI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29154718 13 See EPA https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/food-and-pesticides 14 See CDPR https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/dept/factshts/residu2.pdf 14 state-of-the-science information about how pesticides are regulated and how dietary exposure limits are set can be limited by the complicated nature of the regulations coupled with an abundance of sources seeking to cast doubt on the reliability of those regulations.”15 This is why a MCACO resident-focused website or portal is needed. The combination of MCACO-generated local pesticide data, plus appropriate external consumer-focused pesticide-related links that are centralized on an MCACO portal for the general public would be a new level of outreach. Based on mission, location, and professional knowledge, MCACO is the best local authority for residents’ questions on pesticides. In sum, the Civil Grand Jury determined that MCACO can play a central role in providing an online and an in-person forum for the distribution of useful pesticide- related information needed by the public today. This is not only important for the routine considerations of daily life, it is also important in times when accidents or crises develop. MCACO is part of the Monterey County Hazardous Materials Incident Response Organization. The County’s Hazardous Materials Incident Response Plan calls for MCACO to inform and assist responders if “Pesticide Drift Exposure” incidents were to occur as well as agricultural chemical wholesalers and applicators were to experience spills or other incidents.16 The MCACO could use the proposed public-focused website, and other MCACO social media tools to notify, guide, and inform the public of these events in a real-time or near-real time manner. This could promote public safety and enhance public confidence in MCACO’s responsible oversight of pesticides in our County. However, the Civil Grand Jury realizes that many Monterey County residents do not have the resources, or the opportunity to use the internet and social media to research this knowledge. U.S. Census data suggest that 80.8 percent of Monterey County households have broadband access at home, but that also means more than 24,000 15 See Reeves,McGuire, Stokes, & Vicini (2019) doi: 10.1093/advances/nmy061 16 Monterey County (MC). (2016). MC Operational Area Hazardous Materials Incident Response MC Hazardous Materials Incident Response Plan. http://www.mcftoa.org/wp- content/uploads/2011/05/Monterey-County-Haz-Mat-Area-Plan-Final-January-2016.pdf 15 households – or more than 79,200 people, are not connected.17 County news reports also highlight the challenges faced by many County residents, who are “not connected.”18 This segment of our community, possibly 18 percent of the County, also needs accurate, reliable and unbiased information on pesticides. In this regard, the Civil Grand Jury noted that MCACO routinely conducts farm labor- contractor workshops, K-12 outreach activities, staff presentations to schools, and even engages in partnerships with local 4H clubs. These are ideal venues to provide or disseminate hard copy materials that would mirror the consumer-focused pesticide portal envisioned above. These initiatives would be a catalyst for informing that un- plugged portion of our community. Such work could be augmented by mailings or material available at MCACO offices In addition, the Civil Grand Jury noted that the Monterey County Board of Supervisors’ policy P-130 ( of 4) cites US Census data on Monterey County as being “…home to more than 25% of people who cannot communicate in English, with close to 100,000 people who speak only Spanish.”19 Other sources reference US Census ACS data (2014-2018) to suggest similar language demographics.20 This led the Civil Grand Jury to conclude that MCACO outreach would be more effective to the community and have a more extensive reach in the County by having information that is bilingual, written in both English and Spanish.21 Finally, the Civil Grand Jury recognizes the Agricultural Commissioner and MCACO for the work done so far both to keep our produce safe and plentiful, and to improve the process of disseminating information about pesticides. The Civil Grand Jury noted how MCACO has used different media including the Monterey County website, Facebook, a 17 US Census, American Community Survey (ACS), 2014-2018: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/montereycountycalifornia/HSD310218 18See: The Great Divide (3/1/2018). Marielle Argueza. Monterey County Weekly: https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover/about-percent-of-monterey-county-doesn-t-have- high-speed/article_4d23b65a-1ce6-11e8-bcde-87000d561763.html 19 Monterey Board of Supervisors, Legistar File Number 17-1262, January 9, 2018: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=69250 20 See LiveStories.com: https://www.livestories.com/statistics/california/monterey-county-language 16 Quarterly Newsletter, the Monterey County Crop Report and certain other publications. Now is the time for the next level of MCACO outreach to the consumers. FINDINGS
F4
Current County personnel vacancy levels and rates of hire confirm that recruitment has not been occurring at an optimal level in either the centralized or the decentralized departments.
F5
The compensation plan (currently called “Compensation Philosophy”) in use by Monterey County is outdated; the list of public agencies used for “market survey” comparison was last updated in 1989, more than 30 years ago.
F6
As discussed in interviews, on-line learning systems may provide critical on- demand training, but they cannot replace the human interaction that occurs in person-to-person training, which supports job satisfaction.
F7
Gonzales currently has a viable dual approach toward of AB 1825 training through use of group-oriented classroom presentations and e-learning (i.e. computer-based training). Classroom presentations are preferred but E-learning is used for supervisorial promotions/new hires (e.g. where a classroom training is unavailable).
F8
A December 6, 2016 classroom training by Concern-EAP, although deficient with reference to 2 CCR §11024, was sufficient to render the city of Gonzales compliant with the training mandate imposed by AB 1825.
F9
Online AB 1825 training by EVERFI that was done in 2017 was not in compliance with AB 1825 and 2 CCR §11024: the Civil Grand Jury was provided with insufficient information upon which to make a determination whether or not the online supervisory employee training complied with 2 CCR §11024.
F10
The city failed to meet the timeframe for sexual harassment/abusive conduct re- training of supervisory employees, as directed by California Government Code §12950.1 and more particularly specified in 2 CCR §11024. 120
F11
The city’s failure to meet the timeframe for sexual harassment/abusive conduct re-training established by 2 CCR §11024 was due to staff changes and workload issues.
F12
The city has no written policy about AB 1825 sexual harassment/ abusive conduct training. Findings – City of Greenfield
F13
Greenfield’s Office of the City Manager should be recognized for its clear understanding of state requirements for AB 1825 supervisor training, and its dedicated approach to actively conducting both online and in-person classroom AB 1825 supervisor training in spite of lack of support from some city supervisory employees.
F14
The city’s sexual harassment prevention policy (Attachment B to Rule 17, Section 7) is incomplete and out of date. It does not provide adequate information to assist employees or guide supervisors in dealing with sexual harassment situations.
F15
The city’s Office of the City Manager’s AB 1825 compliance records management is inadequate. The combination of a lack of a viable tracking system and a single staff point of contact has made effective tracking and compliance problematic.
F16
The city’s Office of the City Manager’s decision to use an automated learning management system, like TargetSolutions, was a positive measure that may facilitate more timely training delivery and better records keeping in the future.
F17
Even with an automated learning management system for AB 1825 training and records compliance, the city’s Office of the City Manager will have continued difficulty meeting state standards for AB 1825 training compliance because of 121 competing work requirements in the City Manager’s office and the limited time and resources devoted to this training. The current approach does not recognize the expanded range of compliance measures required by AB 1825. Findings – King City
F18
King City is to be commended for their excellent record in maintaining 100% compliance with AB 1825 requirements for the fiscal years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. Findings – City of Marina
F19
Marina has implemented a streamlined, effective training year tracking system for AB 1825 training for supervisory employees in its general management group.
F20
The city did not address an alternate online training source for new and promoted supervisors during 2018, which may have resulted in two late trainings.
F21
A high-ranking official is the only supervisory employee with no record of training for 2017 or 2019 and is assumed to have failed to complete required AB 1825 training.
F22
The city’s written, stand-alone harassment policy needs updating, because it is missing certain language governing protected classes required by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s 2 CCR §11023 regulations, and it does not contain a reference to AB 1825 supervisor training mandated under 2 CCR §11024 regulations.
F23
Revision of the city’s Personnel Policy Manual is extremely overdue. Findings – City of Monterey
F24
The city of Monterey’s personnel tracking system does not include enough data to ascertain whether employees promoted to a supervisory position received AB 1825 training within six months of hire or promotion as a supervisory and then every two years thereafter.
F25
Monterey was unable to provide a complete and accurate roster of all of its supervisory employees along with their AB 1825 training dates resulting in the Civil Grand Jury having insufficient information to determine if the city was indeed training all of its supervisors timely and according to AB 1825 mandates.
F26
Monterey’s sexual harassment policy titled, Harassment/Discrimination/ Retaliation/Abusive Conduct/Bullying Policy, in city code 25-3.03 accurately reflects the 2 CCR §11023 conduct prohibitions, but it does not include the mandated employee training requirements in 2 CCR §11024. Findings – City of Pacific Grove
F27
Pacific Grove has a first-rate classroom training program. However, its structured in-person training dates sometimes make it hard to achieve timely training for all employees who have training due.
F28
The city’s existing AB 1825 recordkeeping system does not facilitate tracking two-calendar year retraining and six-month supervisory employee training.
F29
The city’s electronic onboarding or induction does not ensure timely six-month training for new and promoted supervisors, which has resulted in a low percentage of timely training.
F30
The city’s policies no. 100.80 –100.110, Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention Policy and Complaint Procedure, found in the 123 Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual posted on the website, are missing a reference to mandated AB 1825 training requirements contained in 2 CCR §11024 regulations.
F31
The city’s Employee Handbook, for which employees sign an acknowledgement of receipt, is missing references to AB 1825 policy and mandated training requirements. Findings – City of Salinas
F32
The city of Salinas HR Department should be recognized for its clear understanding of state requirements for AB 1825 supervisor training and its active and professional approach to that training for the city.
F33
The city’s AB 1825 compliance program is generally compliant with state requirements but is somewhat deficient in identifying and ensuring new supervisor six-month AB 1825 training compliance.
F34
The city currently manages AB 1825 using the New World ERP system and using online vendors like TargetSolutions. This dual systems approach is a point of potential failure in tracking.
F35
The city currently manages AB 1825 using the New World ERP system and HR records to generate notices for supervisors of required training. However, the Civil Grand Jury found there is insufficient senior management accountability or focus on the individual city supervisory employee to complete required training in a timely manner. Absent senior management emphasis, complete compliance or even high rates of compliance with AB 1825 training requirements may be difficult to achieve. Findings – Sand City
F36
For two employees, Sand City failed to meet the two-year timeframe for sexual harassment/abusive conduct re-training of supervisory employees, as directed by California Government Code §12950.1 and more particularly specified in 2 CCR §11024.
F37
The city has no written policy regarding AB 1825 sexual harassment/abusive conduct training. Findings – City of Seaside
F38
Seaside is commended for its fully compliant AB 1825 written policy.
F39
The city has a comprehensive AB 1825 training program that allows employees to select their preferred training method.
F40
The city does not fully coordinate course completion between its three AB 1825 training modalities (classroom, online, and webinar) and does not limit employee training, which has resulted in some supervisory employees training more than required and other training late or not at all.
F41
Seaside’s onboarding procedures are ineffective at ensuring new and promoted supervisory employees complete AB 1825 training within six months.
F42
The city lacks an efficient recordkeeping system for AB 1825 training compliance, and some training records for supervisory employees are archived off-site and are not readily accessible. Findings – City of Soledad
F43
Soledad is to be commended for their excellent record in maintaining 100% compliance with AB 1825 requirements for the fiscal years 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19. Findings – County of Monterey
F44
Monterey County Civil Rights Office (MCCRO) has a strong, professional understanding of all requirements to comply with AB 1825 training in the Monterey County government, and delivers high quality, compliant AB 1825 training to County supervisory employees in both online and classroom/in-person settings.
F45
MCCRO’s AB 1825 compliance records management is inadequate. The office (1) lacks a unified interface for accessing or directly managing all past training, and (2) lacks sufficient access to individual personnel records to actively track ongoing AB 1825 training deadlines for current or new supervisors.
F46
MCCRO’s AB 1825 compliance records management process is a complex series of push-pull actions—requiring careful, ongoing interaction between the MCCRO and other County departments. Each department has Learning Management Specialists to help make this process work, but the MCCRO itself does not have sufficient staff to keep up with the coordination and planning work of ensuring AB 1825 training requirements are met for supervisors in all departments.
F47
Monterey County Civil Rights Office leadership and staff displayed a high degree of professionalism and personal commitment to the spirit as well as the letter of the AB 1825 law. All office personnel were forthcoming, honest, and helpful for this investigation. 126
Recommendations 29
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R1Within budget limitations and personnel constraints, MCACO should create a simple, accessible forum on MCACO website that is general-public focused, and that publicizes relevant pesticide information directly to the Monterey County community. This website forum should be bilingual in content (English/Spanish). This recommendation should be completed within one year of the publication of this report.
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R2MCACO should expand its use of social media to a more varied range of portals, outlets, media and platforms. These outlets should link to the proposed general public pesticide forum, when active, and also publicize MCACO’s rich resources of pesticide information throughout. This expanded outreach should include printed materials and bilingual (English/Spanish) content. This should be completed within one year of the publication of this report.
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R3MCACO should prepare its current social media and all expanded outreach channels to support contingency planning and public notifications for any incidents under MCACO’s purview that might develop or create public interest or concern. This should be operational of the publication of this report.
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R5Each budget cycle should include specific opportunities for department heads to identify and justify specific referral and hiring bonuses for their hard-to-fill positions. This process should begin of the date of this report.
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R6In order to ensure an adequate staffing level for essential County public health workers, the County should begin a process to identify supplemental funding sources to mitigate un-forecast budget shortfalls in federal and state grants, aid, or other direct program funding. This analysis should be completed in 30 days.
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R7The Learning and Organizational Development Division of the Human Resource Department should be restored to include classroom training. This should be completed
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R8The County should conduct a review to determine the level of Human Resources staffing, both in the departments and in the Human Resources Department, that can provide support levels sufficient to achieve the 10% 51 vacancy rate goal as assumed with the County budget. This review is to be completed REQUESTED RESPONSES
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R9The city’s Office of the City Manager should review and revise current management practices for AB 1825 supervisory training and tracking. This revision should include: (1) development of a city supervisory responsibility system that will create a “demand pull” for AB 1825 supervisor training to complement the current “requirement push” approach that the city has used; (2) integration of all in-person classroom AB 1825 training rosters and training data with the TargetSolutions learning management system to ensure one unified 128 management, tracking, and reporting system for all AB 1825 training; and (3) off- loading the AB 1825 training and tracking responsibilities from the Office of the City Manager to a new or existing HR section, or augmenting the Office of the City Manager’s personnel with part-time or dedicated personnel responsible for tracking and coordinating AB 1825 training and compliance data. This revision should be completed by June 30, 2022. Recommendations – City of Marina
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R10Marina should employ a back-up online training provider in the event of a future hiatus in the TargetSolutions training program. This recommendation should be implemented no later than 6 months after this report is published.
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R11Department heads should be models to other supervisory employees on the importance of respect in the workplace. Therefore, by September 30, 2020, the one city official who did not train in 2017 and 2019 should complete online AB 1825 training in 2020, 2021, and subsequent odd years.
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R12The city should update its written, stand-alone, “Policy Against Sexual Harassment,” and its associated Acknowledgement of Receipt form, of the publication of this report.
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R13The city should revise its Personnel Policy Manual so that it reflects the mandated training requirements outlined in 2 CCR §11024. This recommendation should be completed no later than 12 months after this report is published. Recommendations – City of Monterey
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R14Monterey should revise their personnel tracking system to include all city employees regardless of department, each employee’s date of hire as a supervisor or date of promotion to a supervisory position, and date of classification change to a non-supervisory position, in order to accurately determine if AB 1825 training mandates are being met. This recommendation should be completed no later than 12 months after this report is published.
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R15The city should review its Harassment/Discrimination/Retaliation/Abusive Conduct/Bullying Policy to include the employee training requirements mandated by 2 CCR §11024. This recommendation should be completed no later than 12 months after this report is published.
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R16The city should diligently assess whether the AB 1825 training programs it uses, such as those offered by the federal EEOC, meet the training curriculum mandates outlined in AB 1825 and its amendments. This recommendation should be completed no later than 12 months after this report is published. Recommendations – City of Pacific Grove
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R17By September 30, 2020, Pacific Grove should continue to improve its recordkeeping efforts and fully update its supervisory employee roster worksheet to better track and address potentially late AB 1825 training before it becomes late.
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R18The city should develop a practice to individually counsel and refer new and promoted supervisors to online training when classroom training is not available of their hire. Those employees also should be encouraged to take the next session of in-person classroom training to reinforce the city’s culture of respect. This recommendation should be completed no later than six months after this report is published. 130
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R19By December 31, 2020, the city should amend their Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, policies no. 100.80 –100.110, Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention Policy and Complaint Procedure, to reference AB 1825 training requirements per 2 CCR §11024 regulations.
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R20The city should publish an updated Employee Handbook that references current law on harassment of all types, on abusive conduct, and on mandated harassment training. Pacific Grove should distribute the revised handbook to all employees and require them to sign a new acknowledgement of receipt. This recommendation should be completed of the publication of this report. Recommendations – City of Salinas
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R21By June 30, 2021, the city of Salinas should automate the six-month new supervisor training signal for AB 1825 training. The city’s HR Department should develop an automated HR noticing process that informs all newly hired or appointed supervisors of the six-month AB 1825 supervisor training requirement, and signals HR to (automated or manually) enter that training suspense in the New World ERP system.
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R22By June 30, 2022, the city should continue to advance HR integration and automation of training processes and functions. This should include (1) automated notices or “ticklers” to supervisors on AB 1825 training deadlines, (2) integrating online training records with the New World ERP system, and (3) routinely creating global city reports of compliance that can provide HR and senior city leadership with a comprehensive snapshot of AB 1825 training compliance by city supervisory personnel.
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R23By September 30, 2020 the city’s senior management should adopt a stronger emphasis on promoting individual city supervisory employee responsibility to 131 complete required training, including AB 1825 supervisor training, in a timely manner. Recommendations – Sand City
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R24By December 31, 2020, Sand City should ensure that AB 1825 sexual harassment/abusive conduct prevention training undertaken by and/or at the direction of the city follows the directives and protocols laid out in 2 CCR §11024, including but not limited to the following areas: frequency, duration, and documentation of training; content of training; method of delivery of training; qualification of the trainer.
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R25Sand City should develop a system to ensure that a full and complete written record of all AB 1825 trainings that it sponsors, regardless of whether delivered via classroom, e-learning, or webinar format, is in place and includes the date of the trainings and the names of attendees. This recommendation should be completed of the publication of this report.
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R26By December 31, 2020, Sand City should engage with the City Attorney, other staff, or an outside contractor to prepare a written policy regarding AB 1825 sexual harassment/abusive conduct prevention training for its workforce. Recommendations – City of Seaside
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R27By September 30, 2020, the city of Seaside’s HR Director should assign one HR staff member to oversee AB 1825 training requirements and recordkeeping, so that all employees with training due in 2020 are trained
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R28Seaside should implement an onboarding system that effectively captures new or promoted employees and requires them to complete AB 1825 training within six 132 months of their hire or promotion. This recommendation should be completed of the publication of this report.
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R29Seaside should adopt an effective training tracking system to assemble all AB 1825 recordkeeping in one location, preferably saved to electronic files with cloud access. This recommendation should be completed of the publication of this report. Recommendations – County of Monterey
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R30The Monterey County Civil Rights Office should review and revise the processes used to manage AB 1825 supervisory employee records to include the following: (1) develop a unified interface for accessing and directly managing all past training; (2) develop a method either with Learning Management Specialists, or centralized with an automated and trackable notice or tickler for AB 1825 training due dates; and (3) increase staffing and authority for personnel responsible for tracking and coordinating AB 1825 training and compliance data. This recommendation should be completed of the publication of this report.