SCOPE:  This Policy and Procedure applies to all employees of Larimer County and employees of the Office of the District Attorney, Eighth Judicial District (reference F), with the exception of employees of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office pursuant to Larimer County Policy BCC P# 15A (reference E).

RESPONSIBILITY:  The Human Resources Director administers this policy.

REVISION LOCATOR:

1. VII Pre-Employment Actions: Modified Drug Testing Language

POLICY AND PROCEDURE:

I.   GENERAL POLICY:     
Employees are hired and advanced through open competition based on qualification and potential for quality job performance and overall job-person fit.  To assist in achieving non-discriminatory recruiting and employment, the County complies with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws (reference B) and its EEO policy (reference A).    
 

II.   APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT:     
Applicants must complete a County online application form and any other required documentation by the deadline date and time noted on each vacancy announcement.  Applicants may include a resume or other relevant information along with the County application.  An applicant must submit an application for each position for which they want consideration.  Only applications submitted through the County online job system are eligible for consideration unless otherwise approved by the Human Resources Director.  Applications are accepted for current vacancies, in addition to positions with ongoing eligibility lists.    
 

III.   JOB POSTINGS: 

A.  Vacant positions are posted to the County Careers page by the Human Resources Department.  Positions are listed as either external or internal opportunities.  If approved in writing by the Human Resources Director or designee (enclosure 4), a temporary position lasting less than six months may not be posted or advertised.

B.  County postings will include a statement that Larimer County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer    
     (reference B).

C.  External job postings are announced on the County Careers page for a minimum of eight days.

D.  Internal job postings are announced on the County Careers page for a minimum of four days.

E.  All advertising/media costs are the responsibility of the hiring department or office.

F.  Flexibly staff positions do not need to be posted (reference I).

IV.   SCREENING EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS: 

A.  The County Human Resources Department retains all applications for employment.  Screening may be conducted by Human Resources or the hiring department/office.  All applications must be screened on the basis of the job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities which indicate greatest potential for quality job performance.  All candidates must be screened and interviewed in the same manner with the same core questions.

B.  Applications are first screened by the Human Resources Department on minimum qualifications.  Applicants not meeting the minimum employment qualifications are eliminated. The applicants meeting minimum qualifications are then screened by the hiring department/office on the basis of best qualified in terms of job-related criteria.

C.  After screening is completed, the hiring department office will then choose the top candidates for interview.

D.  If there aren’t enough qualified applicants, the hiring manager must consult with their recruiter to determine whether to extend the posting or repost the position until a sufficient number of qualified applicants is obtained.

E.  The hiring manager makes the final selection for hire, and notifies the Human Resources Department

F.  Hiring managers must notify all candidates of the status of their application within 30 calendar days of a posting close date.

G.  Hiring of Related Persons: A person related through marriage, including in-law relationships, blood relationships or through adoption, or an immediate family member as defined by the Bereavement policy will not:

V.   ONBOARDING:

Once the candidate is onboarded, all offer letters, employment applications and new hire paperwork are stored online for the appropriate records retention period by Human Resources (reference G).  Any interviewing and hiring documents will be sent to the Human Resources Office for storage for the appropriate retention period.  Documents sent to Human Resources must have the Interview Packet Submittal form (reference H) included as a cover page.

If an employee from one County department or office is hired by another, the hiring department or office assumes all leave time and any other applicable benefits the transferred employee has accrued.  For compensation questions regarding the transfer, reference the Compensation Policy.  Hiring Managers screening a current or former County employee may review the personnel file by contacting Human Resources.  

VI.   IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL COMPLIANCE: 

A.  New employees are required to provide evidence of eligibility for employment as established by the Department of Homeland Security - U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services-USCIS (reference C) and must complete the appropriate portions of Form I-9 (enclosure 2).  The I-9 must be completed within the timeframe required by the USCIS.

B.  Each department or office will designate an employee to complete the employer's portion of the Form I-9 (enclosure 2) electronically in Onboarding.  The photocopy of the employee's eligibility documentation must be uploaded into Onboarding.  Any problems which may exist with the employee's documentation must be resolved within the timeframe required by USCIS.

C.  In the event that a new employee is having difficulty producing the required documentation within three business days, the Decision Maker or designee will contact a Human Resources Generalist immediately.  If the employee cannot produce the required documents within the required timeframe, the employee may not perform further work for the County until the employee is able to produce the required documents.

D.  Hiring departments or offices will not maintain original or duplicate copies of the I-9 forms and substantiating documents.  The Human Resources Department will retain the I-9’s and photocopies of the employee's eligibility documentation in separate files.  These files will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of compliance with applicable law.    
 

VII.   LIMITED TERM EMPLOYEE:

A.  Job postings for a Limited Term position must include “Limited Term.”

B.  Applicants interviewed for Limited Term positions will be informed by the hiring department of the Limited Term nature of the position.  Those individuals hired into a Limited Term Employee position must sign the acknowledgement form (enclosure 1).  

VIII.   BACKGROUND CHECKS: 

A.  Background checks are based on the responsibilities and minimum qualifications of the job.  At the discretion of the recruiting team, background checks may be reviewed with a Human Resources Generalist.

B.  Background checks may be performed in-house or through a consumer reporting agency (third party vendor).  Checks performed by a consumer reporting agency must comply with the Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) (reference D).  Departments or offices conducting background checks outside a consumer reporting agency should notify Human Resources of the background check and the reason for it.    

Exploration or use of an applicants’ social media account, or internet searches may be a form of a background check.  Before performing this type of background check, hiring managers must discuss it with their Human Resources Generalist.  Departments or offices cannot require a candidate to grant them access to the candidates’ social media account(s). This does not apply to corrections or law enforcement agency positions.

C.  Consumer Reporting Agency Background Checks under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA):

1. Applicants for employment and current employees must sign the FCRA Disclosure & Authorization form for the County to obtain a background check from a consumer reporting agency.
2. The County is legally required to respond to applicant and employee inquiries about a consumer reporting agency background check within five (5) days following receipt of the inquiry.

D.  Verification of Applicant’s Prior Experience, Education, and References: 

1. Before making an offer of employment to an applicant, the hiring manager may verify the experience and education claimed by the applicant.  The hiring manager may also contact personal or professional references of the applicant during this time.  Any of these verifications may be done through the Human Resources Applicant Tracking system or through the background check vendor selected by Human Resources.

E.  Medical Information:

1. Medical information may only be requested after a conditional offer of employment is made to an applicant, or the applicant expresses a need for reasonable accommodation.  The information sought must be relevant to the applicant's ability to perform the essential functions of the job and be consistent with business necessity.  If the applicant is requesting a reasonable accommodation, the hiring manager should contact the Human Resources Inclusion Administrator.
2. Medical information obtained on an applicant will be kept separate from other records and will be kept confidential.

F.  Drug Testing:

1. All applicants selected to work in jobs that are Department of Transportation regulated, required by funding source, including federal or other grants, law enforcement, and criminal justice will be required to undergo a post-offer, pre-employment drug screen. All offers of employment in these jobs are contingent upon a satisfactory result of testing. The contingent offer of employment shall be withdrawn for any applicant who tests Non-negative or Positive pursuant to the Human Resources Policy Legal Compliance, Section IV, Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace (Reference A).
2. Notwithstanding Section F(1), any Elected Official may exercise their discretion to require post-offer, pre-employment drug screening.  Additionally, any Elected Official may exercise their discretion to not require post-offer, pre-employment drug screening, except that in all circumstances, jobs that are Department of Transportation regulated or required by funding source must undergo a post-offer, pre-employment drug. screen. The Elected Officials who require pre-employment drug screening are listed in Appendix C (Enclosure 5).
3. Applicants who refuse or fail to submit to testing on the originally scheduled date will not be considered further for employment except as approved by the Human Resources Director or designee.
4. Vacancies for jobs requiring drug testing will include a statement in the job posting that a drug test is required.

IX.   SIGN ON BONUSES:

Hiring managers may offer sign on bonuses to candidates for hard to fill, or other special circumstances when approved by the County Manager.  Hiring Managers wishing to offer such a bonus should first obtain approval of their Decision Maker, and then consult with a Human Resources Generalist prior to submitting the request to the County Manager (enclosure 3).

____________________________    
Kristin Stephens    
Chair Pro-Tem, Board of County Commissioners    
(Approved by BCC – Consent Agenda – 06/25/2024)    
(Signature on original filed in Records Management)

Distribution:    
All County Department and Elected Officials    
Records Management SOP Manual (original)

CK/jw

DATE:  June 25, 2024

EFFECTIVE PERIOD:  Until Superseded

REVIEW SCHEDULE:  Every two years in June, or as needed

CANCELLATION:  Recruitment, Applications, and Hiring; March 16, 2021

ENCLOSURE(S):

1.  Limited Term Employee Acknowledgement Form – LCHR-84    
2.  Employment Eligibility Verification – Form I-9     
3.  Hiring Waiver - LCHR-68    
4.  Waiver of Temporary Posting, LCHR-69  
5.  Appendix C

REFERENCE(S):

A.  Human Resources Policy and Procedure 331.4.25, Legal Compliance    
B.  Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws    
C.  Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986    
D.  Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681    
E.  Larimer County Policy BCC P# 15A; Sheriff’s Department Personnel Policies    
F.  Governing Policy: Policy 3.2 - Treatment of Staff    
G.  Administrative Policy and Procedure 351.4/Records Retention Program    
H.  Hiring Managers Interview Packet Submittal Form  
I.  Flexibly Staffed Positions