Imperial County Municipal Code Ch. 3.16 Equal Opportunity Regulations

The board of supervisors intends that the county's personnel system to be based on equal employment opportunity principles. Such system should provide for recruitment, selection, compensation, promotion, and retention of personnel based upon their relative abilities, open competition, and job performance. The goals of such system shall be the employment or promotion of the most qualified candidates in all instances, the elimination of artificial barriers to such employment in all aspects of personnel administration policies, procedures and practices, and achievement of the specific objectives described in this chapter.

(Prior code § 24350)

A. Job classification statements, established pursuant to Section 3.12.010, shall be comprehensively documented, to insure that: (a) required knowledge, abilities and skills are identified and accurately described; and (b) job qualification requirements are realistic and based upon the specific knowledge, abilities and skills identified as necessary to performance of duties of the particular job.

B. The director of human resources shall be responsible for insuring that job classification statements meet the requirements of subsection A of this section.

(Prior code § 24351)

A. Employment standards and practices for positions in the county shall be based upon job qualification requirements that are job-related in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations pertaining thereto and the current Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures promulgated by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter XIV, Part 1607.

B. Employment standards and practices of the county shall provide for equal employment opportunities for qualified disabled persons who, with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question. Such employment standards and practices for disability discrimination promulgated by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 84 et seq.

(Prior code § 24352)

(Ord. No. 1555, § 1, 2-25-20)

A. Recruitment policies and personnel procedures shall be designed to result in employment or promotion of the most qualified persons available in all instances.

B. Job opening announcements shall be widely circulated, contain sufficient information as to qualifications, compensation and duties of particular positions so as to encourage open competition among qualified candidates.

C. Recruitment programs for job openings in the county, for entry level and promotional level positions, shall provide for a minimum employment application filing period of fourteen (14) calendar days, to assure open competition and adequate time for the filing of applications by qualified candidates. No county department shall initiate any type of employee or promotional selection procedures until the subject of minimum filing periods has expired and the director of human resources has certified and referred qualified applications to the department of selection, pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.16.050.

D. The director of human resources shall be responsible for establishing, coordinating, and administering all recruitment procedures of the county to insure that such policies meet the requirements of this section. The director of human resources shall authorize all recruitment efforts for all entry level and promotional job openings, establish all employment application minimum filing dates, and prepare, approve and circulate all job opening announcements.

E. In the event a certified applicant selected for employment pursuant to Section 3.16.050 declines an offer of employment, or accepts an offer of employment but resigns or is terminated, within six months of the acceptance, the above recruitment provisions do not apply and the appointing authority may select from any previously certified applicants.

(Prior code § 24353)

A. Personnel selection policies and procedures shall further the goals of open competition and the hiring or promotion of the most qualified candidates in all instances.

B. Personnel selection procedures shall commence upon the expiration of the employment application minimum filing period, as follows:

1. The director of human resources shall review all applications received and certify as acceptable all applications from candidates who appear to meet the minimum employment qualifications for the position.

2. The director of human resources shall review all applications certified as acceptable and categorize all such applications as "highly qualified", "qualified", [or] "minimally qualified".

3. Recruiting departments shall be entitled to a minimum of five applicant referrals for a job opening. Applications of all candidates classified as "highly qualified" shall be referred to the recruitment department. If less than five candidates are classified as the "highly qualified", personnel office shall refer all those applications so classified to the recruitment department, but the department may then, at its option, either request a further application review of the qualified" applicants by the personnel office, to select a total of five applications which shall be referred to the recruiting department or may waive the recruitment process and request that a new recruitment commence.

If more than one position opening is being recruited for at the same time by a department, the department of human resources shall refer a sufficient number of applications for the first opening and one additional application for each additional opening.

4. Furthermore, at the written request of a department, the director of human resources shall forward all applications, including those deemed not qualified, to the recruiting department. The recruiting department may then submit a request for reconsideration of any application deemed not qualified to the director of human resources. Such request must summarize the reasons for the request for reconsideration. Once received, the director of human resources shall have three business days to accept or deny the request.

5. The recruiting department shall interview all candidates referred from the personnel office in accordance with procedures established by the director of human resources and shall establish and rank a numerical ranking for all set applicants. The department shall utilize criteria for making evaluations and rankings which have been approved by the director of human resources. The department shall document the specific reasons for its evaluations and ranking of all candidates.

6. The director of human resources shall certify for appointment to the appointing authority the five highest ranked applicants for a job opening. If more than one position opening is being recruited for at the same time by a department, the director of human resources shall certify for appointment to the appointing authority the five highest ranked applicants plus the next highest ranked applicant for each additional position opening.

7. The appointing authority shall be entitled to receive the five highest ranked applicants. The appointing authority may tentatively select for appointment any one of the applicants certified for appointment by the director of human resources, treating all such applicants certified for appointment as equally qualified for the job opening (the "rule of five").

For purposes of making such a temporary selection, the appointing authority or his or her designee shall consider and treat equally all applicants certified for appointment. In the exercise of the appointing authority's discretion in making temporary selections, the appointing authority or his or her designee may consult with or otherwise evaluate such applicants already certified for appointment. Any such consultations with such applicants shall be deemed to be adjunct to, and not be deemed to be in and of themselves, formal interviews as provided for in subsection (B)(4) of this section.

The appointing authority shall affect a temporary selection by informing the director of human resources in writing of his or her selection. The writing shall provide the appointing authority reasons for the selection, and shall certify to the director of human resources that the appointing authority has equally treated and considered all applicants certified for appointment and that the appointing authority has not in any manner violated the civil rights of any certified applicant.

The tentative selection shall become final when the selection has been approved in writing by the director of human resources.

An offer of employment to a certified applicant shall not be made until the appointing authority has complied with provisions of this subsection. In the event a certified applicant declines an offer of employment, or accepts an offer of employment but resigns or is terminated within six months of acceptance, the appointing authority may then tentatively select for appointment any one of the remaining certified applicants. In making such new selection, the appointing authority again shall comply with all provisions of this subsection. The exercise by the appointing authority of the selection prerogative, (the "rule of five") provided for in this subsection, in and of itself, shall not be cause for appeal to the county's employment appeals board.

8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection hereinabove, a particular recruitment process results in a total of five or less job applicants being certified as acceptable and categorized as "qualified" pursuant to the provision of subsection (B)(2) of this section, the director of human resources may certify all such applicants for appointment to the appointing authority, and the appointing authority may make a tentative selection for appointment of any such certified applicant, without first having to comply with the formal interview requirements of subsection (B)(4) of this section.

C. The personnel office shall notify in writing all job candidates whose applications have been denied certification because of failure to meet minimum job requirements. The director of human resources shall be responsible for developing, proposing, and implementing, pursuant to the prior approval of the board of supervisors, policies and procedures providing appropriate written notice to candidates whose applications have been accepted as meeting minimum qualifications but who have not been certified for selection to recruiting departments, taking into consideration special recruitment requirements, such as the need for continuous recruitment program for certain types of county positions. The recruiting department shall give notice to candidates it has evaluated when a position is filled.

D. The personnel office and the recruiting departments shall document the standards they have utilized in these selection processes, and shall retain such documentation for audit purposes for three fiscal years succeeding the fiscal year in which the selection process occurred.

(Prior code § 24354)

(Ord. No. 1555, § 2, 2-25-20)

A. This chapter shall apply to the recruitment and selection for entry level positions in the office assistant and account clerk classification series and to the equivalent positions in the event that this series is superseded or renamed.

B. The method used in the recruitment and selection of county employees shall comply with the law and other applicable county ordinances and policies, in order to be competitive, impartial, and a fair measurement of the relative capacity of applicants to execute the duties and responsibilities of the position to which they seek to be appointed. All vacancies in the positions referred to above shall be filled as provided in this chapter. Appointments shall be made with the objective of obtaining for the county the best qualified person of the top five persons available who, in the judgment of the appointing authority, will best meet the needs of the department.

C. All recruitment shall be posted in the department of human resources and by such other methods as the director of human resources deems appropriate.

D. The selection techniques used in the examination process shall be impartial and related to those subjects which, in the opinion of the director of human resources, fairly measure the relative capacities of applicants to execute the duties and responsibilities of the position to which they seek to be appointed.

E. After the completion of the examination, the director of human resources shall prepare and keep available an employment list consisting of the names of candidates who qualify in the examination, arranged in order of final oral scores, from highest to lowest qualifying score.

F. Employment lists established utilizing the procedure described by this section shall remain in effect for a period not to exceed six months, unless exhausted at an earlier date. However, the director of human resources may, if he or she determines that it is appropriate: (1) cancel the list at an earlier date; or (2) issue one or more extensions of the period for which the list is effective by no more than a total of an additional six months from the original date of scheduled expiration.

G. Certification of applicants will be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in this chapter by the director of human resources. For purposes of this chapter, "certification" means that the director of human resources has designated in writing the five applicants currently ranking highest on the eligibility list to the appointing authority of the department in which there currently is a vacancy or vacancies. In the event of more than one opening, one additional name will be supplied for each additional vacancy.

H. The appointing authority may proceed with a selection of an applicant from the five names as certified by the director of human resources and the affirmative action officer, if required. When the appointment has been made, the appointing authority shall notify all five applicants.

I. Except as otherwise provided, the names of any persons appearing on an eligibility list may be removed by the director of human resources: (1) if the applicant requests that his or her name be removed; (2) if five certifications for appointment have failed to result in selection and appointment; (3) if the person has received regular appointment to a position in a classification which is equal to or higher than the classification for which the eligibility list was established; (4) if the applicant fails to accept an offer of employment two times; and (5) if the applicant fails to appear as scheduled two times for final consideration by the department head. The person affected shall be notified of the removal of his or her name by notice mailed to his or her last known address by the director of human resources.

J. If an eligibility list has been in effect for at least four months, the director of human resources may, if he or she determines it to be appropriate, contact the persons on the list by mail to their last known addresses, requiring them to confirm that they wish to remain on the list.

K. All vacancies in the classification service shall be filled by transfer, demotion, promotion, reemployment, reinstatement or from eligible applicants certified by the director of human resources.

(Prior code § 24354.1)

A. In recognition of the essential right of all applicants for employment and employees to be treated as individuals, it is the policy of the county of Imperial to employ, advance in employment and otherwise treat qualified disabled individuals in a nondiscriminatory manner. The county's objective in adopting this policy is the utilization of qualified disabled persons to their full potential in all job classifications. Furthermore, the county will make a good faith effort to reasonably accommodate the physical and/or mental limitations of any employee or applicant unless such accommodation would compose undue hardship on the conduct of county business.

It is the intent of this policy to prohibit discrimination based on disability in all employment actions, decisions, policies and practices including, but not limited to: recruitment and hiring; compensation; qualifications for employment, promotions, and transfers; lay-offs, demotions, and terminations, and disciplinary actions, and selection for training.

B. The county's director of human resources shall be responsible for developing, disseminating and maintaining written county-wide policies and procedures for insuring that no qualified disabled person shall, on the basis of disability, be subjected to discrimination in employment in any county program or department. These policies and procedures shall be in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations pertaining thereto and the current Regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 84 et seq.

(Prior code § 24354.5)

(Ord. No. 1555, § 3, 2-25-20)

A. Appointments of new hires or to promotional positions shall be affected by the department head, in compliance with the requirements of Section 3.08.120. The department head shall certify to the director of human resources on the written appointment form for the particular appointment that he has complied with all the requirements of this chapter.

B. No department head shall fail to make an appointment of a new hire or an appointment to a promotional position based in any manner on a job applicant's or an employee's pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

C. Appointment of limited term employees, as defined in Section 3.04.020, shall be affected by department heads by identifying such appointments on the appropriate appointment documents and by requiring such employees to execute a written form provided by the director of human resources acknowledging that they understand and agree to the terms and conditions of limited term employment.

(Prior code § 24355)

A. All recruitment, selection and appointment policies and procedures provided for in this chapter apply as fully to promotional appointments as they do to new hires to entry level positions.

B. The director of human resources shall be responsible for developing, proposing, and implementing, pursuant to the prior approval of the board of supervisors, any special policies and procedures which may be desirable to maximize flexibility in promotional recruitment, automatic advances in graded levels of classifications within the departments, special recruitment programs for professional positions, or for positions with special recruitment difficulties or considerations. Such special policies and procedures shall be adopted by resolution of the board of supervisors and shall be based upon specific findings of the board of supervisors that such policies and procedures are necessary to the efficient management of the personnel system of the county.

(Prior code § 24356)

A. The county shall have the reduction in force layoff policy based on merit principles as provided by Chapter 3.40. B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, limited term employees, as defined in Section 3.04.020 shall not have any rights pursuant to this chapter in regard to the automatic termination of the employee with the county.

(Prior code § 24358)

Editor's note— Sec. 4 of Ord. No. 1555, adopted February 25, 2020, deleted § 3.16.110, which pertained to appeals, and derived from the prior code.