5-115: Hiring Deputy Sheriff Above Entry Level

Purpose

To outline the policies and procedures for hiring deputy sheriffs at a salary above the entry level salary step. 

Authority

• Personnel Ordinance, Section 2.78.480 provides the authority for hiring deputy sheriffs at a salary above the entry step. ​

Scope

This policy applies to Deputy Sheriff candidates applying for County employment and current County employees who may be affected by the hiring of a new employee at a salary above entry level.

​Policy

The County’s intention in adopting these procedures is to facilitate recruitment of experienced deputies by the Sheriff’s Department. The following procedures enable the Sheriff to offer salaries at or slightly above the levels that job applicants earned in their most recent employment. The County’s intention is not to pay more to deputies simply because they already have law enforcement experience.

Experience in other law enforcement departments counts only toward qualifying the deputy for advance step placement, but not seniority or other Sacramento County benefits.

Standards of Application 

Employee Eligibility: To be eligible for hire at a salary above entry level, a candidate for deputy sheriff must meet both of the criteria listed below: 

1. Eligible for appointment from a civil service list for the class of deputy sheriff. (Refer to the class specifications for further clarification of the minimum qualifications.) 
2. Worked for at a least one year within the last five years in a medium or large sheriff or police department in California. When recommending advance step placement, both the size of the law enforcement department and the quality of the experience should be considered. 

Procedures

Authorization to Hire by Advance Step Placement

1. A candidate cannot be hired by advance step placement until recommended by the Sheriff and approved by the Director, Department of Personnel Management. 

Documentation

When recommending advance step placement, the Sheriff’s Department must provide the Director, Department of Personnel Management with the following information: 

1. Candidate’s name and ranking on civil service examination. 
2. Law enforcement department(s) where currently and/or previously employed, including employment and termination dates (month and year). 
3. Salary amount, including bonus payments, received in the law enforcement department where last employed. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department will verify this salary with the previous employer. 
   1. Bonus payments: Bonus payments are predetermined payments included regularly in the employee’s salary. Bonus payments may include educational incentive pay. Bonus Payments do not include overtime or other extra compensation that varies with the number of hours worked from pay period to pay period. Neither do they include reimbursement or other benefits that are not a part of salary. 

4. Recommended salary step and amount, including educational or other bonus payments. 

Calculating Salary Amount

The Sheriff may recommend increasing the hiring salary according to the following formulas: up to one additional salary step (5%) may be added for each full year of employment with another qualifying law enforcement department, but the total salary may not be more than 5% (one step) above the last salary the deputy received in the law enforcement department where last employed. 

In this section, “salary” means base pay plus all educational and other bonus payments. 

Once appointed, the deputy must work the equivalent of one full year for Sacramento County before becoming eligible for a step increase in salary. 

Restrictions

Experience in other law enforcement departments counts only toward qualifying the deputy for advance step placement, but not toward seniority or other Sacramento County benefits.