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The Personnel Department was created in 1979. It administers the employee selection system, labor relations and negotiations, benefit programs, and the classification/compensation plan. The Department also manages employee records, implements affirmative action, and coordinates other personnel related programs. The City Charter of 1896 created the Civil Service system and established the Civil Service Commission and Civil Service Department to administer the system. The reorganization in 1979 abolished the Civil Service Department, replacing it with the Personnel Department, and established the Civil Service Commission as a separate City agency. The bulk of records described below are from the old Civil Service Department.

Annual narrative, statistical, and financial report of the Civil Service Department and Civil Service Commission. Includes reports of the secretary to the Commission and the Chief Examiner; exam results; dismissals and investigations; digests of amendments to Civil Service rules; and reports of the Public Employment Office.

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Correspondence, memoranda, investigations, reports, surveys, newspaper clippings, examination reports, classification studies and reports, legislation, and rules. Includes records relating to Civil Defense, "subversive organizations," and loyalty oaths.

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Microfilmed appointments, separations, general correspondence, applications, employee lists, reports, and publications. Arranged alphabetically for each year.

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Files of the Personnel Director, primarily of Susan Pavlou. Includes correspondence, memoranda, reports and studies, and working papers relating to Affirmative Action, CETA, labor relations, city employee salaries, and training programs.

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Folder List

Proceedings of Board established in 1951 to encourage employee suggestions that benefit the City. Cash awards are given for accepted suggestions.

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Published laws and rules governing the City's civil service system.

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Records relating to the search, evaluation, selection, and appointment of candidates for department director positions. Includes appointments, oaths of office, resumes and references, background checks, search committee records, organization charts, public disclosure forms, and other materials related to searches. Arranged alphabetically by department.

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Standardized reports filed by boards, commissions, committees, and task forces. Includes authorizing information such as dates established, ordinance authority, and appointment authority; administrative details such as membership requirements, terms, meeting dates, officers, subcommittees, members names, and attendance records; and program information such as current activities, planning for the following year, and historical information. Reports are arranged alphabetically by entity.

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Microfilmed applications for City positions. Include position, applicant's name, address, citizenship, birthplace and date, age, marital status, sex, height and weight, work history, and references. Arranged alphabetically by year.

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Copies of Civil Service examinations given to establish employment registers. Arranged chronologically.

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Compilation of Civil Service examination statistics including dates, job title, type of exam, number of applications rejected, number of people examined, number failing to appear, and numbers of passed and failed.

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Correspondence from the Board of Examiners relating to applications for examination, exam results, and notices of examination dates.

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Register of individuals eligible to work as laborers on Seattle's public works projects. Includes name, address, ward, age, type of work sought, and general examination average and rank. Also includes date certified for employment, employing department, position, wage, and other comments. This register was replaced by a card file in 1905.

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A register of applicants for positions in the fire and police departments. Includes name, address, age, marital status, nativity, height, weight, and number of dependents for each applicant. Also includes information on civil service examination scores and rank, certification of employment, probationary appointments, separation from service, application and examination for promotion, and general remarks. A card file system replaced the register in 1905.

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Notices of Appointment, Reports of Employment, Reports of Discharge, and Reports of Separation documenting personnel actions. Information generally includes name of employee, job title, date of action, wage paid for appointments, and reasons for discharges. Also includes a few transcripts and summaries of hearings over disputed discharges. Arranged by department and then chronologically.

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Reports include employment data on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. Includes reports titled Race and Sex Summaries by Category and Department; Race and Sex Characteristics by Department; and Handicapped and Veteran Profiles.

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Employment data reports filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission showing the number of City employees by gender, race, and ethnicity, and by salary within job categories. Known as State and Local Government Information (EEO-4) Reports, they are filed at the end of the federal fiscal year.

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Correspondence of the Labor Commissioner to businesses seeking temporary and permanent laborers, individuals requesting employment, and from non-residents gathering information regarding employment possibilities. The 1896 City Charter created the position of Labor Commissioner in the Civil Service Department and established the Public Employment Office. The Public Employment Office maintained applications of individuals seeking work and employers seeking workers, and acted as an employment clearinghouse. The Labor Commissioner was Chief Examiner and also maintained labor statistics for the City.

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Correspondence, reports, minutes, policies and procedures, program proposals, sub-grant agreements and modifications, and audit material relating to City beneficiary programs of the KSMC. Records relate especially to the Seattle School District, desegregation training, the Central Area Motivation Program, and the City's Public Service Employment Program.

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Folder List

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Proceedings of Board established in 1931 to administer examinations to individuals seeking a meat salesman license. Includes lists of people who were examined and their scores.

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Proceedings of Board established in 1951 to administer examinations for the various classes identified as requiring refrigeration licenses for employment. Minutes include lists of people passing examinations and those who failed or did not have the requisite work experience to qualify for the exam.

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Correspondence, applications, reports, policy and procedures, draft legislation, and examination results relating to the licensing and monitoring of masseurs and masseuses.

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Proceedings of meetings of the Massage Operators Examination Board. Includes results of examinations, discussion and decisions on appeals, and policies regarding licensing.

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Seattle's Civil Service System was established by the 1896 City Charter. The Civil Service Commission was created to promulgate rules and regulations, prepare registers of those passing exams, provide for merit promotions, conduct hearings and investigations, and employ a chief examiner. The City's personnel function was reorganized in 1979, and the Commission's primary activity now is to hear appeals relating to civil service rule violations.

Proceedings of Commission meetings. Includes hearings on dismissals, Commission actions on various requests (e.g. leave of absence, reinstatements), applications and protests regarding classifications, and results of examinations.

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Volume List

Correspondence and reports from the Civil Service Commission. Includes reports on personnel actions, answers to requests for information, and commission findings.

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Correspondence and reports relating to Commission activities and finances, policies and procedures, and personnel actions.

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Opinions of Corporation Counsel requested by the Civil Service Department especially regarding policies and rules for employment in the City's civil service. Topics include (but not exclusive to) age requirements, CSC authority, examination rules, veteran preference, temporary employment, sex equity in hiring, and retirement. Arranged chronologically.

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Index