BOSTON – For almost 25 years, a Hadley resident has attempted to get a law passed requiring all state agencies and institutions to have their job openings listed in a statewide computerized database.
“Citizens have a right to know where jobs are, people are entitled to know what job opportunities there are,” said Thomas McGee, 84, a former federal government employee.
This week, two local legislators endorsed the latest legislation, which they filed last year, to mandate better transparency regarding state jobs for which people can apply.
State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Daniel Carey, D-Easthampton, on Monday submitted written testimony to the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in support of the bill titled “An Act Relative to State Employment Postings.”
“Hiring guidelines in Massachusetts already require posting state employment opportunities publicly to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process,” they wrote in the joint submission to state Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen and state Rep. Stephan Hay, the chairwoman and vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. “However, many state agencies are working around this requirement by obtaining exemption waivers. The current hiring guidelines are not effective for public job seekers because these exemptions exist.”
Those hiring guidelines, updated last September, state that “all positions should be posted in order to encourage an open, fair and transparent hiring process. The agency may, on an exception basis, request a waiver from the posting process based on a documented business need (i.e. internal promotion, specialized skills, etc). The agency must secure approval via the waiver requisition process in MassCareers for any position NOT posted on MassCareers.”
As of Tuesday, MassCareers has 693 positions listed for numerous departments, including those overseen by the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Attorney Generals’ Office. The jobs posted this week include some in Hampshire County, such as recovery coach for the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office in Northampton, and many farther afield, like environmental analyst for the Department of Environmental Protection and mental health worker for the Tewskbury Hospital’s Hawthorne Unit.
McGee said it is unfortunate that the legislation has never become law, despite advocacy from Carey’s predecessors, former state representatives Nancy Flavin and John Scibak, and former state senator Stanley Rosenberg, because it is about fairness and openness.
“If you don’t know about a job opportunity, you’re totally cut off from it,” McGee said.
In 2015, the bill, sponsored by Scibak, was given a favorable referral from the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development to Ways and Means, but it did not move any further. That could happen again this time, McGee said.
In 2018, the bill seemed to be progressing, as it was given a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Public Service to Ways and Means. But the bill never made it out of committee.
Carey said it is uncertain what will happen, but he has confidence that as people look for jobs, they more often turn to those that are posted online.
“The bill has made great strides in the past but hasn’t crossed the finished line yet,” Carey said. “I’m hopeful that it will pass as more and more services are done online now there is no reason not to post these vacancies.”
Jared Freedman, chief of staff for Comerford, said the reasons similar legislation has never been approved are not known to his office.
“We’re not aware of why previous efforts haven’t been successful,” Freedman said.
If there are any issues with the bill, those will be identified next month.
“We’ll know better as we hit the deadline to move bills out of joint committees in early February and hear what the committee has to say about this bill,” Freedman said.
More than 20 years after the bill was first filed it has been reintroduced in various versions in the Legislature. McGee, who has testified on the issue in the past, acknowledges that there has been a vast improvement, observing that the database in 1995 had just 25 positions listed and two in western Massachusetts, but he still wants to see all jobs posted. Without this happening, veterans, minorities, and others who are not in the loop for state jobs are being hurt, he said.
The bill (S.2336) requires that “all state agencies and institutions submit employment opportunities, postings, and notices, excluding positions subject to section 46D of chapter 30, chapter 31 and chapter 150E, to be placed in a state-wide computerized referral system. No state position may be filled without compliance with this provision.”
Comerford and Carey, in their written testimony, state that many residents are unaware of where to find state employment vacancies because of the lack of a centralized referral system.
“Transparency about state employment vacancies will not only garner greater trust from the public in government hiring processes, but will also benefit state agencies which will receive applications from more diverse and qualified candidates.”
“While it is easy for those close to Boston and the State House to hear about state employment opportunities through word of mouth, the members of the public living outside metro Boston are unaware of non-publicized job vacancies,” they added. “The commonwealth will only benefit from this influx of new talent that will more readily access state employment opportunities.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
