NCJ Number
141437
Journal
Large Jails Network Bulletin Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Dated: (November 1989) Pages: 5-10
Date Published
1989
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The pre-employment contract requires employees to reimburse the agency if they move to another agency within a specified period of time, and the Sheriff's Department in Contra Costa County, California implemented the approach to retain staff.
Abstract
The amount of reimbursement should be tied to the agency's expenditures in hiring and training. The objective is to discourage employees from moving to another agency. Agency departments that use pre-employment contracts need to develop a chart that can be attached to the contract to show prospective employees how much money they would owe at each point in the training period. For example, an employee may owe up to $10,000 after completing all training. The $10,000 is then depreciated over the 30-month contract term; if the employee resigns at month 20, he or she may owe $4,000. A difficult issue related to the pre-employment contract is whether agency staff must meet and confer before the contract can be implemented. The importance of security labor's cooperation cannot be overestimated. In Contra Costa County between March 1986 and August 1988, 120 deputy sheriffs were hired and required to sign the pre-employment contract, and no candidate refused to sign the contract. Tips for developing pre-employment contracts are listed, and their value in law enforcement is discussed.