The routine transfers of personnel shall be made effective at the beginning of the workweek--0001 hours on Sunday. Transfer lists will be broadcast in advance of the effective date to allow employees sufficient time (not less than five days) and an opportunity to obtain their schedule at the new unit. This will also allow for any rescheduling which may be needed to meet their Creditable Service Hours (CSH) requirements.
Consideration shall be given to the employee's current work status when other than routine transfers occur so that shortages or overages required for CSH will not occur.
The staffing needs of the Department are the first priority in the assignment of any personnel. The following policies will serve as guidelines which are to be followed to the extent manpower requirements permit.
Exceptions to the provisions of this policy may be granted by the assistant sheriff(s), based on Department needs.
For the purpose of this policy, a “patrol division” assignment is any unit of assignment with field patrol responsibilities and the Department’s patrol training program.
Transfer Policy
NOTE 1: Deputies assigned to Court Services Division who are not patrol certified are required to transfer to a patrol division and, consequently, may not select the “No Choice” option on the Transfer Request form. They must maintain a Transfer Preference Request on file listing up to a maximum of three patrol station selections. If a deputy opts to change his or her career path from patrol, they must submit their updated Transfer Preference Request prior to the deputy break-up. In compliance with the deputy’s request, the deputy shall be re-assigned to custody division.
NOTE 2: Deputies who joined the Sheriff’s Department as a result of the Department’s assumption of services from the former Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety may choose a career path in custody division by selecting the “No Choice” option on the Transfer Request Form. Should they wish to transfer to patrol at a later time, they must submit a Transfer Preference Request listing up to a maximum of three patrol station selections.
NOTE 3: Deputies who joined the Sheriff’s Department as a result of the Department’s merger with the Los Angeles County Marshal’s Department in 1994 are exempt from patrol.
NOTE 4: Lateral hired deputies will adhere to the same transfer guidelines as sworn personnel.
In the event of a staffing shortage of sworn personnel in any of the patrol divisions, the Department has the flexibility to enact mandatory transfer to patrol, in reverse sworn Department seniority order, thereby transferring deputies who graduated from the academy on or after May 6, 1983, (Class #214) to a patrol division station.
NOTE 1: Eligibility for transfer is outlined in the Field Training Officer’s Manual (Section 8, Trainees with Performance and/or Learning Difficulties).
NOTE 2: Sworn Department personnel who joined the Department through the Marshal Merger of 1994 fall under the pre-214 transfer policy and are exempt from mandatory patrol assignments.
The Transfer Preference List, composed of personnel who have submitted approved transfer requests, is promulgated twice a year in January and July. Transfers may be submitted at any time; however, the Transfer Preference List will only be updated twice a year.
When an academy class graduation is pending, transfer deletions will not be accepted if made later than four weeks prior to graduation. In circumstances where a deputy requests a deletion within the four-week period because of undue hardship, it shall be granted or denied at the discretion of the concerned deputy’s division chief on a case-by-case basis. Satisfactory documentation shall be provided to substantiate any such hardship claim.
Unless unusual or extenuating circumstances can be demonstrated, a minimum of one year will be served at the new assignment before the next transfer request will be accepted.
Administrative transfers do not void an employee's transfer request that has placed the employee on a seniority transfer list.
Deputy personnel who have not completed a patrol assignment, who have been out of a patrol assignment five years or more, and all lateral entry personnel will attend Patrol School prior to their transfer to a patrol assignment.
Court Services Division Transfer
Deputies desiring transfers into Court Services Division may request a transfer to East, West, Central or Transportation Bureaus. Deputies may not request transfers to a specific court within a bureau. It is the policy of Court Services Division to fill vacancies at courts through intra-division transfers of existing division personnel, if at all possible. If vacancies cannot be filled through intra-division transfers, then they will be filled with deputies transferring into the division. It is also the policy of Court Services Division that deputies approved for transfer into East or West Bureaus may first be considered for filling of vacancies in Central Bureau courts (Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Stanley Mosk Court, Metropolitan Courthouse, etc.). Deputies requesting a transfer into East or West Bureaus are advised that there is a substantial likelihood of an assignment to Central Bureau instead. After vacancies at Central Bureau courts are filled, transferring deputies will be assigned to vacant positions in the bureau according to their transfer request.
Transferring deputies who are assigned to a bureau other than their transfer request choice may seek an intra-division transfer to a more desirable assignment. Intra- division transfers to the various courts within the division is based upon division seniority, and deputies may request a transfer to any specific court at any time after their assignment to Court Services Division.
Intra-division transfers into Transportation Bureau are available.