Careers: Culture and Benefits

Health and Wellness
We want you and your family to stay healthy, happy, and thriving. When you work with us, you get access to LA Well, which is where you'll manage your excellent medical coverage, including prescription drug and vision benefits, along with customizable dental options. To help you manage everyday healthcare costs, the City of Los Angeles offers Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). An FSA lets you set aside pre-tax dollars through automatic payroll deductions for eligible medical, dental, and dependent care expenses, which lowers your overall taxable income.

If you ever face personal, work, or emotional challenges, our confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is always here for you. The EAP provides professional, compassionate guidance to help you and your family manage emotional health, family relationships, and personal struggles, ensuring you stay supported and resilient.

Retirement and Savings
You can build long-term financial security for your retirement years while saving on your taxes today. All full-time employees participate in the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS). This robust, independent pension plan provides reliable retirement benefits, expert portfolio management, and built-in term life insurance to protect your family's future.

To help you build an even stronger financial cushion, you can join our voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan as a supplement to your pension. This plan lets you set aside a portion of your salary before taxes are taken out. Your contributions and investment earnings grow completely tax-deferred, meaning you won’t pay state or federal income taxes on them until you withdraw the funds, typically after you retire from City service.

Time Off Benefits
We believe that taking time to rest, heal, and spend time with loved ones is essential for your well-being. Our generous paid time off package ensures you have the support you need to maintain a healthy work-life balance:

• Vacation Time: Earn two weeks of paid vacation after your first year of service, three weeks after five years, and up to four weeks as your career with us grows.
• Paid Holidays: Enjoy 11 paid holidays each year, including one floating holiday that you can use at your convenience.
• Sick Leave: Fully paid sick leave is readily available to support you and your family if you experience an illness or injury.

Paid Parental Time
Welcoming a new child into your home is a major milestone, and we want you to focus entirely on your family without financial worry. Eligible civilian employees with at least one year of service receive up to 12 weeks (480 hours) of fully paid parental leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. This flexible benefit can be taken in increments within one year of the event, and it does not require you to use any of your accrued sick or vacation days.

For parents working in the downtown area, we also offer access to high-quality child care. The Joy Picus Child Development Center, located in South City Hall and operated by Mt. Washington Preschool and Child Care Centers, proudly serves City employees and local families.

Flexible Work Schedules
You can enjoy more three-day weekends while helping us clean the air we breathe. In our effort to improve local air quality, the City of Los Angeles offers flexible working schedules depending on your specific work assignment, location, and labor union. One of our most popular options is the 9/80 work schedule. By working just one extra hour each day, you can enjoy a three-day weekend every two weeks!

Growth and Learning
We are proud to invest in your professional future and support your long-term career goals. LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) has a long-standing tradition of providing significant educational and training benefits. We offer a tuition reimbursement program that helps cover the costs of your classes at the accredited school of your choice (certain restrictions apply). We highly encourage all of our team members to take advantage of these programs for continuous job and career enhancement.

Financial Safety Nets
We provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones through comprehensive financial protections. Our benefits include robust life insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, and long-term disability coverage.

We also make your daily commute easier on your wallet and the environment. LASAN is deeply committed to ridesharing. We offer transit spending accounts to help you save money on public transportation expenses for your commute, alongside dedicated employee parking and rideshare incentives.

Important Career Details
LASAN has working locations across the City of Los Angeles, depending on your position and daily work assignments. Please note that specific benefits, flexible schedules, and terms may vary according to your labor union's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Our Shared Mission
When you join LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN), you join a team that directly impacts the health and safety of our neighborhoods. As a proud bureau within the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works (DPW), our daily work centers on our environmental slogan: Zero Waste, Zero Wasted Water. We believe deeply in this mission, and every team member, from engineering to administrative support, works together to make it a reality. Working for LA City is exciting and deeply fulfilling, offering the chance to see the positive, lasting impact of clean water and local environmental protections on your own neighborhood.

A Welcoming Family
Working for our bureau is frequently described as joining a giant, extended family. We look out for each other, take care of each other, and celebrate together. Our work culture is traditional, hands-on, and heavily team-oriented. This warm environment is why so many of our team members are part of multi-generational family lines who have proudly chosen to build their careers with us. We respect one another, we respect our city's residents and businesses, and we enjoy hearing the ways in which our service enriches local lives.

Celebrating with Neighbors
We do not just work in our communities—we live and celebrate in them, too. We host a beloved annual Earth Day LA celebration and multiple public Open House events across the city. Our employees, retirees, and past employees enthusiastically volunteer to staff these weekend gatherings, often bringing their own families along to join the fun. These events are a wonderful opportunity to share our environmental work directly with the communities we serve.

Diversity and Inclusion
The City of Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the world, and our workforce proudly reflects that diversity. We have an active, ongoing focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). All employees are provided with regular, high-quality workplace equity training. This helps us ensure that our day-to-day work environment is always built on mutual respect, trust, and productive collaboration.

Wellness and Socials
We actively promote a healthy work-life balance so you can thrive both inside and outside the office. Most of our roles feature standard 40-hour workweeks, generous paid time off (PTO), and flexible scheduling or telecommuting options for professional and administrative staff.

We also make time for fun and fitness! Some LASAN working locations feature on-site employee gyms, and many of our team members participate in recreational sports leagues. To build camaraderie, our divisions host regular socials and annual holiday parties, made possible by employee-led fundraisers throughout the year.