Orange County Superior Court Provides Recruitment and Retention Incentives to Court Reporters

Santa Ana, CA — The Orange County Superior Court announced significant monetary recruitment and retention incentives for Court Reporters following an agreement with the Orange County Employees Association (OCEA).

“The Court appreciates the additional earmarked state funding,” said Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Maria Hernandez. “This new money, specifically allocated for this purpose, will assist with the recruitment and retention of qualified court reporters who serve an essential and valued role in our justice system.”

The funding has been allocated to the courts pursuant Senate Bill 154 and Senate Bill 170 and is intended to address a critical court reporter shortage in California.

“This funding adds resources to the efforts the Court has already made to attract and retain court reporters. Recent discussions with OCEA and current court reporters have assisted in furthering this mutual interest,” said Orange County Superior Court Executive Officer David Yamasaki.

The agreement calls for a wage increase, longevity stipends, a one-time lump sum payment of $5,000 for current court reporters, a recruitment incentive, a referral incentive, and other benefits.

For more information, please contact HRhelp@occourts.org.

Appendix:

The agreement includes the following recruitment and retention incentives applicable to the Official Court Reporter and/or Official Assignment Court Reporter classifications:

Wage Increase

• A general salary increase of 7% for the Official Court Reporter and the Official Assignment Court Reporter classifications.

Court Reporter Longevity Pay for regular and limited term Official Court Reporters

• $2,500 paid after 2 years of service (4160 regular, paid hours)
• $3,500 paid after 5 years of service (10,400 regular, paid hours)
• $4,500 paid after 7.5 years of service (15,600 regular, paid hours)
• $6,000 paid after 10 years of service (20,800 regular, paid hours)
• $7,500 paid after 15 years of service (31,200 regular, paid hours)
• $9,000 paid after 20 years of service (41,600 regular, paid hours)
• $10,500 paid after 25 years of service (52,000 regular, paid hours)
• $12,000 paid after 30 years of service (62,000 regular, paid hours)

Court Reporter Retention Incentive Pay

• A $5,000 one-time, lump sum payment will be paid to each full regular, probationary or limited term Official Court Reporter or Official Assignment Court Reporter employed at the time of agreement. Part-time court reporters will receive a pro-rated amount based on their regularly-scheduled work hours.

Court Reporter Recruitment Incentive Pay

Official Court Reporter

• A one-time payment of up to $10,000 ($5000 paid after 30 days of employment, $2,500 paid after 6 months of employment, and $2,500 paid after 12 months of employment, based on regular, paid service hours).

Official Assignment Court Reporter

• A one-time payment of up to $5,000 ($2,500 paid after 30 days of employment, and $2,500 paid after 6 months of employment, based on regular, paid service hours).

Promotion from Official Assignment Court Reporter to Official Court Reporter

• A one-time payment of up to $5,000 ($2,500 paid after 30 days as an Official Court Reporter, $1,250 paid after 6 months as an Official Court Reporter, and $1,250 paid after 12 months as an Official Court Reporter, based on regular, paid service hours).

Court Reporter Employment Referral Incentive Pay

• $3,000 paid upon the referral and new hiring of an Official Court Reporter or Official Assignment Court Reporter ($1,500 paid upon the hiring of the referred applicant and $1,500 paid after the referred employee has completed 12 months of employment).

Court Reporter Recruiting Business Leave

• Up to 48 hours of paid release time will be provided to current Court employees per fiscal year for the purpose of participating in off-site court reporter recruiting events.

The Court is optimistic that these significant incentives will assist with accomplishing the intended goal of increasing court reporter recruitment and retention during this critical time.

Click here to view the official news release.