SJC task force issues hiring and promotion action plan
A Supreme Judicial Court task force has issued a plan for
improving the Trial Court's hiring and promotion procedures that
can be put in place once its hiring freeze is ended.
The Court has reviewed the Nov. 8 report - "Action Plan for Hiring
and Promotion of Employees of the Trial Court Recorder, Clerks and
Registers of Probate" - which is the fifth in a series of
comprehensive reviews exploring a different part of the court
system. The SJC's Task Force for Hiring in the Judicial Branch is
chaired by former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.
Court officials said the action plan reinforces the core
principles and best practices approach outlined in the prior
reports, including emphasis on the need for the Trial Court's Human
Resources Department to have an enlarged role in recruitment,
hiring, promotion, training and performance evaluation of court
employees.
The task force recommends that the clerks, registers and the
recorder, who are the appointing authorities for their offices,
continue to make the final decisions on the applicants hired to
work in their offices, but underscores that each applicant should
meet common, statewide minimum qualifications for various positions
and participate in standard Trial Court employee training programs
and evaluations.
Chief Justice for Administration & Management Robert A.
Mulligan established a 21-member committee, chaired by Juvenile
Court Chief Justice Michael F. Edgerton, to undertake a thorough
review of the Trial Court's Personnel Policies and Procedures. The
committee will follow the recommendations set forth in the SJC Task
Force reports to enhance the role of the Human Resources Department
so that, when the Trial Court hiring freeze is lifted, it will be
prepared to provide effective oversight of the hiring and promotion
of employees and perform other expanded HR duties.
"This critical effort will ensure our effective implementation of
the recommendations on merit-based hiring and promotion provided in
the series of excellent reports submitted by the SJC Task Force on
Hiring," Mulligan said.
"We will continue to implement the Task Force recommendations to
bolster public confidence in the way that court employees are
recruited, promoted and trained," said SJC Chief Justice Roderick
L. Ireland. "I commend the Task Force members for their diligent,
thoughtful work."
The SJC Task Force will prepare a final report to the Court and
will continue to monitor the transformation of hiring and promotion
practices in the Probation Department.