L.A. Superior Court is facing a shortage of court reporters and is running a recruitment campaign to fill the more than 100 job openings.
Though an initial set of new incentives was announced in February of this year, they have yet to see a significant increase in applicants, so they expanded the offerings.
David Slayton, Clerk of Court for the L.A. Superior Court, told KNX News reporter Nataly Tavidian, "There are 52,000 proceedings that were held in January and February of this year where there was no verbatim record."
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The court estimates that if the shortage continues, by the end of 2023, approximately 300,000 proceedings will be held without verbatim records.
A statement released by the court said, "The inability to obtain a verbatim record limits the ability for litigants to seek counsel and advice after a decision is made and deprives litigants the ability to meaningfully preserve critical rights on appeal. It also creates challenges in memorializing the court's ruling in a proposed judgment and ensuring that the judgment is enforceable."
According to the statement, increased incentives such as the starting annual salary for a court reporter of $120,888, along with the recruitment advertising costs are paid for with funding provided by Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature.
The incentives inculde:
Increased Signing Bonus for Newly Hired Official Court Reporters
• $50,000 total, increased from $20,000 total, over two years, retroactive to new court reporters with a start date on or after July 1, 2023.
Court Reporter School Student Loan and Equipment Allowance
• Up to $15,000 total over two years. This incentive is retroactive to all new court reporters with a start date on or after July 1, 2023.
Retention Bonus for Current Full-time Court Reporters
• $5,000 if employed as a full-time court reporter as of January 31, 2023, and remain employed as of May 1, 2024.
• $5,000 if employed as a full-time court reporter as of June 30, 2023, and remain employed as of May 1, 2024.
• $10,000 if employed as a full-time court reporter as of January 31, 2023, and remain employed as of May 1, 2025.
• $10,000 if hired as a full-time court reporter between February 1 and June 30, 2023, and remain employed as of May 1, 2025.
Retention Bonus for Court Reporters with 25 Years or More of Service
• Retroactive to July 1, 2023, up to $10,000 for court reporters who submit the required Agreement Form within 45 days of being eligible and agree to remain working at the Court for at least 12 months.
Finder’s Fee for Court Employees who Refer Official Court Reporters to the Court
• $25,000 total, increased from $15,000 total, incrementally ending on court reporter’s one-year hiring anniversary.
Floater Bonus
• Court Reporters actively working and assigned to the Floater Pool (not assigned to a courtroom and designated as a Regional Assigned Floater) will receive a 5% per pay period bonus.
If you are interested in the opportunity, you can find job postings on the L.A. Superior Court's LinkedIn page, and at NEOGOV.
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