Targeted & Local Hiring

One concrete way to advance equity and ensure that economic development benefits low-income communities is to establish targeted hiring requirements. Targeted hire requirements create opportunities for people who might otherwise be overlooked, disadvantaged, or excluded in the hiring process for jobs in economic development projects, including Black, Indigenous, and people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other people with barriers to employment.

Targeted hiring requirements are often paired with first source referral systems and community-based outreach and training partnerships to help create a pipeline of qualified workers that employers on a project need.

Across the country, targeted hire programs have developed effective mechanisms for helping disadvantaged residents find jobs at new development sites and have created job opportunities with existing employers that had previously been unavailable to many workers. Key elements of successful programs include:

Strong policy and contract language that sets the stage for success by clearly defining the responsibilities of all stakeholders: developers, employers, contractors, community-based organizations, and the first source referral system.

Community-based accountability and oversight mechanisms that quickly identify non-compliance and work with employers to course-correct.

Robust community-based outreach, screening, referral, training, placement, and follow-up systems that ensure disadvantaged residents have access to and can succeed in project jobs.

Measures that ensure the jobs in question are good, stable jobs with career advancement prospects, such as limitations on the use of temp agencies and temp workers, fair scheduling requirements, prohibitions on misclassification and subcontracting, and strong minimum wages and benefits.

Measures that protect disadvantaged and marginalized people from discrimination in the hiring process, including fair chance hiring measures and strongly enforced prohibitions against all forms of discrimination.

Targeted hiring programs are on the strongest legal footing, and are likely to produce the most meaningful outcomes, when they are rooted in efforts to reduce poverty or unemployment rather than merely to hire local residents. See our primer on targeted hiring and the Privileges and Immunities clause for more on important legal considerations.

Both local government policies and Community Benefits Agreements have included measures designed to ensure that disadvantaged individuals have employment opportunities in the retail, transportation, entertainment, food service and other sectors. These measures have resulted in thousands of jobs for the communities that need them most, and are sometimes paired with job training and other skills development programs that help individuals build a career.

Oakland Army Base Jobs Policies

Oakland, CA

These policies cover jobs created through the redevelopment of the former Oakland Army Base into a massive warehousing and logistics facility. The policies provide for:  

50% of all jobs for local area residents, 25% of all jobs for disadvantaged residents

First-source hiring through the a local workforce development organization

All jobs covered by Oakland’s Living Wage ordinance

Strict percentage limitations on the use of temp agencies and temp workers

Fair chance hiring protections to prevent discrimination against job applicants based on conviction records

Community oversight: the City established by ordinance a community oversight commission, allowing community members to regularly review compliance reports for all employers, hold meetings with employers and recommend remedies for non-compliance

Policy Language

These Jobs Policies were included as terms in the lease agreement between the Port of Oakland and the developer, Centerpoint.

L.A. Sports and Entertainment District CBA (Staples)

Los Angeles, CA

Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) was a major force in winning the CBA in 2001 for The L.A. Sports and Entertainment District that required local hire for the permanent jobs associated with a district-wide development plan, including several hotels, food service and retail outlets. Implementation began in summer 2007 and is overseen by SAJE.

Policy Language

First Source Hiring Policy

East Palo Alto Local Hire Ordinance

East Palo Alto, CA

The City of East Palo Alto first established local hiring requirements for a major development project in 1996. Subsequently, those requirements were codified in a city ordinance passed in 2000 that covers all redevelopment that receives more than $50,000 in city subsidy. The ordinance applies both to construction and permanent jobs. Implementation began immediately upon passage and is ongoing.

Policy Language

First Source Hiring and Local Business Enterprise Policy

Outcomes

In 2010, 34% of all retail jobs, on average, in redevelopment areas went to East Palo Alto residents through the First Source Hire policy.

North Hollywood (NoHo) Mixed-Use Redevelopment Project CBA

Los Angeles, CA

A community-labor coalition won local hire requirements as part of its community benefits campaign for the North Hollywood Mixed-Use Redevelopment Project. The CBA, signed in 2001, required local hire only for permanent jobs. The first round of hiring began in spring 2007. The policy language established the first source referral system and allowed employers to participate, but did not mandate participation.

Policy Language

NoHo Community Benefits Program

Outcomes

“College's Program Boosts New Market,” San Fernando Valley Business Journal, May 28, 2007.

Hollywood & Highland CBA

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles’ Hollywood & Highland development required construction and permanent local hire programs; these requirements were incorporated into development agreements signed in 1999 and were implemented in 2000 and 2001.

Policy Language

TrizecHahn Project Jobs Program - Urban Development Action Grant

Outcomes

Job Creation Summary from Community Redevelopment Agency Final Report

Los Angeles Airport Modernization CBA (LAX)

Los Angeles, CA

The CBA won in 2004 required local hiring as part of the Los Angeles Airport modernization (LAX). The agreement covers a wide array of jobs at the airport, including approximately 300 retail and food service vendors, airline employees, service contractors, baggage handlers and other jobs on the tarmac. Local hire requirements are incorporated into all new lease and contract agreements, and will be applied to renewals as existing agreements expire. Implementation began late in 2006 and is ongoing. 

Policy Language

LAX Master Plan Community Benefits Agreement

Gates Cherokee Project

Denver, CO

Community benefits won for Denver’s Gates Cherokee Redevelopment in 2006 include enhanced implementation of the city’s existing local hire program for both permanent and construction jobs. Developers have yet to break ground for the project, so implementation has not formally begun, though stakeholders are in the process of establishing the infrastructure and relationships needed to implement the program.

Policy Language

Cherokee Urban Redevelopment Plan

More Information

Map of First Source Hiring Priority Areas

Sign up form to receive notice of jobs that give preference to Denver residents

First Source Local Hiring Overview and History

Community Benefits Achievements at the Gates Cherokee Project

Annie E. Casey Foundation Report: The Gates Cherokee Redevelopment Project: “A Huge Step forward for Low-Income People in Denver”

Ballpark Village CBA

San Diego, CA

The CBA for Ballpark Village, in San Diego, requires local hire for permanent and construction jobs. The agreement was signed in 2005, but changes in the nature of the project delayed groundbreaking. The project design includes residential, retail and entertainment venues, and a major hotel.

Policy Language

Ballpark Village Project Community Benefits Agreement

Implementation

Request for Proposal Guidelines: Ballpark Village Community Job Training and Placement Program

• Replicating Success: The Alameda Corridor Job Training and Employment Program- A Replication Manual for Winning and Implementing Community-Based Jobs Programs on Public Construction Projects. Lisa Rhangelli. Center for Community Change, 2002.
• Winning Construction Jobs for Local Residents: A User's Guide for Community Organizing Campaigns. Kate Rubin and Dough Slater. Brennan Center for Justice, July 2005.
• Building in Good Jobs: Linking Economic and Workforce Development with Real Estate-Led Development. Laura Wolf-Powers, Jeremy Reiss and Margaret Stix. Pratt Center for Community Development, 2006.
• City and County of San Francisco First Source Hiring Program: Chapter 83. Link is to American Legal's website. Expand the list of chapters on the left panel to find this particular chapter.