California Department of Human Resources

DPA was created in 1981 through a Governor's reorganization act to administer those aspects of the State personnel system that had become subject to collective bargaining under the Ralph C. Dills Act. In 1984, another Governor's reorganization transferred responsibility for allocating State positions to the appropriate civil service classification from the State Personnel Board to DPA. (Prior to DPA's creation, SPB was the sole personnel agency in the executive branch.)

In 2012, under a reorganization plan by Governor Jerry Brown, the California Department of Human Resources was created, combining DPA with many of the functions and staff of the SPB. A year later, CalHR, which had previously reported directly to the Governor, was moved into the newly created Government Operations Agency. This shift aimed to streamline state operations and improve efficiency in managing California's workforce.