Employment Categories

Classified Service

The Civil Service System is the City's employment system, where no appointment may be made without first successfully completing a competitive exam. All positions covered by Civil Service are in the "Competitive Service" (also known as "Classified Service.") Appointments to classified positions must be made with a competitive exam, administered by the Civil Service Commission and designed to measure merit, efficiency, and fitness. Classified employees may be represented or unrepresented by a bargaining unit.

Unclassified Service

"Unclassified Service" is the opposite of Classified Service. Such positions are excluded from the Civil Service System. Appointments to unclassified positions may be made without competitive exams. Unclassified employees may be represented or unrepresented.

Confidential Employee Designation

A "Confidential" designation does not mean the position deals with confidential matters; rather, this designation is strictly reserved for any position privy to decisions of City management that affect employer-employee relations i.e., employees in close contact with the collective bargaining process.

Generally, only employees in the Offices of the City Manager, City Clerk, City Auditor, and Human Resources Department are designated as "Confidential" due to their intimate knowledge of the collective bargaining processes. Confidential employees are not represented by a bargaining unit ("Unrepresented").

At-Will Employee

A City of Stockton At-Will employee is someone either not covered by a bargaining unit, excluded from the Civil Service System, or in an at-will employment contract. At-Will employment does not apply to Civil Service employees because they can only be terminated or disciplined for cause. It also may not apply to represented employees with a “for-cause” provision in their negotiated agreement. 

At-Will employees have no specified term and may be terminated or disciplined for any or no reason, regardless of cause, and can be terminated without any warning and without compensation or severance. At-Will employees have no property interest in their jobs and may be released without due process. At-Will employees do have some legal protections in that they cannot be terminated, disciplined, or subjected to any other disparate treatment in violation of federal, state, or local laws. 

Internship Program

The City of Stockton Internship Program provides training and experience opportunities in part-time and volunteer positions for college students. Visit the Internship Program webpage for more information about the program and opportunities.

External Links

There are currently no external links.

This City of Stockton web page last reviewed on --- 12/6/2016