The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) is responsible for issues related to employee salaries and benefits, job classifications, civil rights, training, exams, recruitment and retention.
In 2022, Governor Newsom signed into law Executive Order N-16-22, which focused on advancing equity and tackling disparities and discrimination within the hiring process. Among other hiring reforms, the Executive Order calls for the creation of an anonymous hiring system in the Examination and Certification Online System (ECOS) for job applicants. Anonymous hiring aims to eliminate bias and ensure privacy of PII in the hiring process, and the critical element to achieve anonymous hiring is the redaction of personally identifying information in an individual's application information including form fields, resumes, cover letters, etc. 

ODI has supported CalHR in research to understand the existing redaction processes of departments and will provide recommendations around the implementation of anonymous hiring. Currently, CalHR is experiencing the following challenges relating to the implementation of an anonymous hiring system. Currently, CalHR is experiencing the following challenges relating to the implementation of an anonymous hiring system: 

Currently, CalHR is experiencing the following challenges relating to the implementation of an anonymous hiring system: 

• Current redaction processes are manual, which is onerous and time-consuming. 
• No automated redaction system for free-form documents such as resumes and cover letters (PDF, Word, Rich Text Format)
• Redacted files are hosted by departments in adhoc systems. 
• Some types of documents such as scan or image documents present more difficulties to redact and require special handling.

Through the implementation of an automated redaction tool, CalHR hopes to achieve: 

• Improved HR technician and hiring manager experience. 
• Adoption of a standard process for redaction practices across departments.
• Automated system to handle redactions for thousands of job applications per day.
• Increased accuracy and consistency of document redactions processed.

CalHR is seeking qualified vendors who are experts in automated document redaction. This includes planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining an enterprise solution for the State. CalHR is seeking a qualified partner to create and implement a lightweight redaction solution that will help to implement an anonymous hiring process, and a solution that can be integrated into the Examination and Certification Online System (ECOS) or other required system. 

Technical Minimum Requirements: 

• Cloud-based solution (hosted in the United States) that can process at least 300,000 files or 100GB of data per month. 
• Ability to accept data, real-time or batch, programmatically through an API.
• Ability to be used as both an integrated solution and as a standalone system.
• Compatibility with general supported versions of document formats, including PDF, WORD, etc. 

Security Minimum Requirements: 

• Single Sign On Support. 
• Role-based access and user management.
• Detailed data security and recovery documentation.
• Preferred: FedRAMP Authorization (Moderate impact level or higher) or in process to receive FedRamp Authorization.
• See NIST 800-53 Rev 5 for State of CA security regulations and standards.

Technical Preferred Requirements: 

• Ability to customize what information is redacted. 
• Ability to manually review and edit automated redactions before finalization.
• API and text parsing engine. 
• Maintain customized reporting systems.

Privacy Minimum Requirements: 

• Statements of purpose for the collection of personally identifiable information.
• Data quality and integrity checks that validate and verify personally identifiable information.
• Data minimization and retention checks that ensure personally identifiable information collected, used, and retained is relevant and necessary for the purpose for which it was originally collected.
• Information about the location of data storage, addressing requirements to keep all data in the United States.
• Data collected by the proposed system will remain under the ownership of CalHR.  
• The Offeror will not copy any CalHR data obtained while performing services to any media, including hard drives, flash drives, or other electronic devices, other than as expressly approved by CalHR. 
• The Offeror shall return all data that is the property of the CalHR in a format specified by the CalHR.
• The Offeror shall return all data to CalHR upon completion or termination of the contract. 
• The Offeror shall return all sensitive information received from CalHR or created/received by Offeror on behalf of CalHR in a manner that is documented and consistent with the CalHR policy on the sanitization of information system media (both digital and non-digital), with sanitization mechanisms that are commensurate with the classification or sensitivity of that information. 
• If the CalHR agrees that the return or destruction of confidential information is infeasible, Offeror shall extend the protections of this RFI and or subsequent contract to such confidential information and limit further uses and disclosures of such confidential information to those purposes that make the return or destruction infeasible, for so long as Offeror maintains such confidential information.
• The Offeror shall provide notice of a loss or suspected loss of privacy data to CalHR Chief Information Officer, or designee, as directed by the agency, within 24 hours of loss or suspected loss.

In addition and in support of the technical solution, the vendor must also provide implementation and support services: 

• Enterprise-wide training materials, including handbooks and manuals for all staff roles.
• High-level project schedule.
• Customized training on system updates to modules.
• Project Manager/Project Management support. 
• Resources for analysis, design, development, testing, and deployment. 
• Software warranty.  
• Standard support Service Level agreements (SLA).
• Product roadmap. 

Knowledge Transfer Plan Minimum Vendor Qualifications: 

• Experience with government hiring systems and organizations, including an understanding of the United States Department of Labor and federal and state statutes and regulations for California state civil service. 
• Experience successfully implementing automated redaction solution within a large complex organization.

Preferred Vendor Qualifications: 

• Experience working with California government agencies and/or authorities. 
• Certified Small Business (SB) and/or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) through the California Department of General Services (DGS).
• Registered vendor with a valid California Software Licensing Program contract number. 
• Must be able to conduct business within the state of California.

NOTES ON PROCEDURE AND TIMELINE 

• Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Vendors selected to move onto the next round of evaluation may be contacted before close of RFI. 
• Vendors may be required to perform live demonstrations of solution functionality by the end of May.
• This RFI is not a guarantee of work nor is it a mechanism to allow for direct contract award.
• Information contained within or sourced from this RFI is for informational purposes only.
• RFI responses may be used to inform future procurement endeavors.