NYC may soon require exit interviews for departing city workers

New York City’s government agencies may soon be required by law to conduct exit interviews with workers opting to leave municipal employment for greener pastures.

The proposal, which is laid out in legislation Councilman Shaun Abreu plans to introduce later this month, would impact hundreds, if not thousands, of municipal workers a year, given that the city employs more than 300,000 people.

Abreu contends a law is needed to deal with the many job vacancies after COVID-19 hit the city.

“We’re facing a historic personnel crisis, and we need to know why. It’s time for New York to adopt this common practice that has been employed by most businesses, non-profits and governments for decades,” Abreu said. “These exit interviews would capture vital information and data needed to address some of the challenges we’ve been facing in maintaining our municipal workforce. We can’t find solutions without asking some basic questions.”

The city would be required to “create an exit survey for retiring municipal employees and those municipal employees voluntarily leaving city service,” according to a draft of the bill obtained by The Daily News.

Workers on their way out would also be interviewed within two weeks of their last day of service. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services, in consultation with the city’s Human Rights Commission, would be responsible for devising the final written survey and would also be required to submit a report on their findings to the commission.

If approved by the City Council and Mayor Adams, the bill would go into effect on March 30, 2024.

Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37, the city’s largest municipal employees union, said that, with about 25,000 city jobs currently vacant, the bill makes a lot of sense.

“It’s a good idea,” he told The News on Wednesday. “We’ve had people leave in droves.”

For months, city workers have been saying that much of that turnover has to do with city salaries that are relatively low compared to the private sector, as well as the mayor’s prohibition against working from home.

Garrido acknowledged that those are both factors that have led to departures.

“It’s kind of hard to recruit,” he said.

A recent analysis conducted by Comptroller Brad Lander supports that opinion. A report Lander put out last month claims at least seven large city agencies have job vacancy rates north of 20% — a situation that he said puts the city “at risk.”

“From building inspectors who address dangerous conditions, to tech workers who prevent cyberattacks, to social workers who support children’s wellbeing, vacancies in city agencies are putting our city at risk,” he said at the time.

Adams has defended his strict requirement that employees must return to the office though, contending that not putting such a rule in place would set up a two-tiered system of government employees which would primarily benefit higher-paid white workers. He has also ordered city agencies to find savings as the city looks down the barrel of a potential fiscal crisis with budget deficits projected to hit $10 billion in the years ahead.

Lander said in his report that despite those headwinds, the city must find a way to strike a balance and maintain vital services.

“Right-sizing the city workforce to meet our budget needs, can and must be done with a more strategic eye toward protecting essential services for New Yorkers,” he said.

A spokesman from the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to questions about Abreu’s bill.