Trinity County Municipal Code Art. III Recruitment, Application and Selection for Employment

A. The personnel officer, in coordination with the appropriate appointing authority, shall be responsible for the recruitment of persons who are to be considered for employment with the county. An active recruitment program shall be conducted to attract suitable numbers of qualified applicants to compete for county service.

B. Recruitment programs shall be conducted in such a manner and for such time periods as determined by the personnel officer to be useful and expedient for the class involved.

C. No offer of employment may be made to any applicant until after the specified deadline for that position has passed and sufficient time has elapsed for the processing of applications, administration of exams, and the certification and referral of applicants.

D. The personnel officer may utilize job vacancy announcements, bulletins, advertisements and other methods to publicize employment opportunities with the county.

E. When federal or state laws, grants or contracts stipulate, the personnel officer shall be responsible for notifying the appropriate public and private agencies concerning job openings in order to comply with equal employment opportunity practices.

F. An appointing authority may limit competition for vacant positions to permanent and probationary employees of the department. Such promotional opportunities shall be made known to all potentially interested and qualified employees of the department, to include general description of the position, salary, application procedures, and an application filing date which allows reasonable time to apply.

(Ord. 1087 §1(part), 1986)

A. Application for employment shall be made on an official county job application form and according to such procedures as may be prescribed by the personnel officer. Applications must be filed at the county administration and personnel office or at such places as may be approved by the personnel officer on, or before, any specified final filing date. Any application sent by mail which is received after the final filing date may be processed at the personnel officer's sole discretion if the postmark is prior to the final filing date and it is still possible to process the application without impeding the screening, testing, certification or referral process. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to meet the required filing date. In addition, applicants shall submit such documents or supplemental information as required by the personnel officer in order to verify or evaluate the applicant's qualifications and background.

B. Applications shall only be accepted when there is an official vacancy announcement or notice posted for the class title applied for, when there is a vacancy anticipated, or when a class is designated for continuous recruitment. During periods when applications are not being accepted for a particular class, an applicant has the right to request that a job interest card be kept on file and that they be notified if recruitment is conducted for that class within the next six months.

C. Applications which are incomplete or improperly executed may, at the discretion of the personnel officer, be returned to applicants for proper completion. However, such return shall not obligate the personnel officer to reprocess such applications if they are not properly completed and resubmitted on or before the final filing date, or in time to be processed.

D. Neither the issuance of an application form, nor an invitation to apply shall be construed as incurring an obligation to accept or approve any application subsequently submitted.

E. Applicants may be rejected by the personnel officer and/or applicants refused further consideration, examination, or appointment for any of the following reasons, provided such reasons can be substantiated and documented:

1. Applicant is found to lack any of the minimum qualifications established for the class.

2. Failure of an applicant to submit an application according to established procedures, or within a prescribed time period.

3. Failure of an applicant to complete the application according to instructions, or failure to submit required documents or additional information, or failure to submit a legible and comprehensible application.

4. Applicant has wilfully made a false statement with regard to qualifications or background, or has otherwise practiced deception or fraud in connection with an application.

5. Applicant has attempted to use, or has used, unauthorized aids, cheated, or otherwise attempted to secure an undue advantage on any examination.

6. The application submitted is for a job class for which applications are not being accepted at that time.

7. Applicant has failed to appear for a scheduled examination.

8. Applicant has failed to pass any phase of the examination process.

9. Applicant has obtained information regarding examinations to which the individual is not entitled.

10. The application has been on file for over six months.

11. Applicant is found to be physically or mentally unable to perform the assigned duties of the class applied for.

12. Applicant has been convicted of a crime or has a record of convictions, the nature of which would affect the individual's suitability for employment in the class.

13. Applicant has used or attempted to use political or personal pressure or bribery to secure an advantage in obtaining employment.

14. Applicant is under sixteen years of age.

15. Applicant is over the legal retirement age.

16. Applicant is between sixteen and eighteen years of age and has applied for a job which is defined as hazardous by the United States Department of Labor pursuant to the 1974 Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

17. The applicant's qualifications, relative to the qualifications of other applicants, are not as closely related to the needs of the county in terms of length, breadth, type or quality of training and/or experience.

18. For any other job-related reason the personnel officer has determined adversely affects the applicant's suitability for appointment.

F. Application of Veterans' Preference Credit.

1. An applicant who has received a passing score in an open entry level examination in an eligible classification for Trinity County employment and who is a qualified veteran as defined in Section 2.60.130, shall receive credit of an additional five grade points to be added to the final examination score except that a "disabled veteran" as defined in Section 2.60.130, shall be entitled to ten grade points to be added to the final examination score.

2. Veterans' preference shall apply only to full-time open entry-level employment lists and shall not affect the order of eligibility of reemployment lists, or intra-departmental promotional lists or inter-departmental transfers.

3. Preference shall not apply to promotional examinations, qualifying examinations, or to any personnel transaction such as dismissals, transfers, or layoffs.

G. Proof of Entitlement to Veterans' Preference Credit.

1. In order to claim veterans' preference in hiring, a certified copy of a discharge (DD-214) shall be submitted with the veteran's application on or before the final filing date for the recruitment. All copies shall become the property of Trinity County and will not be returned.

2. Veterans claiming veteran disability preference shall submit proof of the service-connected disability or medical retirement provided by the disability retirement or severance board from the service from which they retired or the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs.

3. Failure to apply for the veterans' preference credit on or before the final filing date shall constitute a waiver of the applicable credit.

(Ord. 1255 §1, 2001; Ord. 1087 §1(part), 1986)

A. The personnel officer, in coordination with the appropriate appointing authority, shall be responsible for the determination and administration of selection methods for filling all positions and establishing whether an examination shall be conducted on a intradepartmental, interdepartmental, or open competitive basis.

B. Examinations shall measure knowledges, skills and characteristics validly required for the successful performance of duties of a particular class or classes. The personnel officer may use such forms and methods in examining as may be appropriate for the class, including one or a combination of any of the following:

1. Evaluations of training and/or experience.

2. Written examinations.

3. Oral examinations.

4. Performance and/or simulated work sample examinations.

5. Medical examinations of health or physical condition where appropriate for the class.

6. Examinations of physical capabilities, psychomotor control or dexterity.

7. Ratings of past work performance and/or promotional potential.

C. The personnel officer shall establish such time limits, methods of recording answers, regulations for admittance to examinations, policies on retesting and such other administrative procedures as deemed appropriate for each examination.

D. The personnel officer shall take such measures as are necessary to ensure that uniform standards are maintained regarding instructions, procedures, and other test conditions to afford fair and equal treatment to all applicants for a given examination.

E. Examinations may be administered at such time and in such places as are necessary and practical.

F. The personnel officer may designate such qualified persons to administer examinations and serve as examiners and test monitors as may be practical and expedient.

G. The personnel officer shall utilize professionally acceptable principles and methods in the development of the procedures for scoring, setting passing points, rounding fractions, converting and combining scores, and weighing examination components as necessary to ensure the final scores meet acceptable standards of validity and reliability.

H. The personnel officer shall establish procedures and take such precautions as necessary to safeguard the security and confidentiality of examination materials and to ensure that equal opportunity to compete is afforded all applicants.

I. Interviews and other examinations conducted by appointing authorities for the purpose of making final selection decisions from among candidates shall be job related. Appointing authorities may request the personnel officer to provide technical assistance in developing and administering such examinations.

The personnel officer, in coordination with the Appointing Authority, may develop standards and procedures for the content and administration of final selection examinations.

J. For the purpose of judicial or other review, the appointing authority shall provide the personnel officer with records of candidates examined, dates, ratings, and other documentation of the results of final selection examinations. This information shall be kept on file at the county administrator's office for not less than twenty-four months.

K. Appointing authorities shall give sufficient final selection consideration to an adequate number of the available candidates to provide for competitive selection and to insure the employment of relatively more qualified individuals to county service. The appointing authority shall be responsible for giving full final selection considerations to all eligible candidates.

L. The personnel officer and/or the appointing authority may hold such supplemental interviews with applicants or make other such inquiries as they deem necessary.

(Ord. 1087 §1(part), 1986)

A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide employment assistance to veterans who served full time in the Unites States Armed Forces in time of national military emergency, or whose units were ordered to active duty by presidential order in time of state military emergency, or who have served in any military expedition of the Armed Forces.

B. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the term "veteran" means any person who (1) during WWII (12-7-41 to 12-31-46), Korean War (6-27-50 to 1-31-55), and during the Viet Nam Era Conflict (8-5-64 to 5-7-75) served on active duty for a period of more than one hundred eighty days and was discharged or released therefrom with other than a dishonorable discharge; or (2) as a member of a reserve component under an order to active duty pursuant to Sections 672 (a), (d), or (g); 673 or 673 (b) of Title 10 (Armed Forces Code), served on active duty during which a campaign badge was authorized including Lebanon, Grenada, Panama (Operation Just Cause) and in Southwest Asia (Operation Desert Storm/Shield), and was discharged or released from such duty with other than a dishonorable discharge; or (3) during peacetime for which service a campaign or expeditionary medal (includes the same campaigns/expeditions listed above) was authorized by the Government of the United States, and was discharged or released from such duty with other than a dishonorable discharge; or (4) was discharged or released from active duty because of a service connected disability notwithstanding period of time served.

For the purpose of this section the term "disabled" shall be defined as the service-connected disability of a "veteran" as that term is defined hereinabove, rated as having a thirty percent or greater disability by the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs. The term "disabled" shall also include a "veteran" as defined above, who has a medical retirement from the military service. Such person shall be required to submit discharge documents as required herein below, together with the proof of the required service-connected disability status rating.

C. Implementation.

1. Eligibility lists will be compiled and completed based upon final examination scores which have included all applicable veterans' preference credits. Thereafter, normal certification procedures shall be followed by the personnel department.

2. The county's personnel department shall be responsible for developing the necessary procedures to implement this section.

D. Eligibility for Veterans' Preference Points.

1. In order to be eligible for the granting of veterans' preference credit, application by a qualified veteran for Trinity County employment may be made at any time after discharge, separation or release of the applicant from active military duty.

2. Veterans' preference points shall only be applicable at initial entry to county service and shall only be open in full time entry classifications. The county's personnel department shall identify such classifications. Only "unemployed" and "underemployed" veterans shall be considered for preference points if they are otherwise qualified. The definition of underemployed shall be the same as used by the state employment development department and describes individuals who are working below their capacity as determined by the county personnel department, or working less than full time, or have received notices they will be unemployed because their skills are becoming obsolete. Also, it includes persons working part time who desire full time work and individuals who involuntarily worked less than a full year during the preceding twelve months. Persons working essentially full time in occupations which pay less than poverty level incomes may be considered to be working at less than their skill capacity if they are deemed capable by the county personnel department of performing at a higher skill level. Specifically to be included as "underemployed" are service personnel about to be discharged who have no apparent civilian job in sight.

3. Veterans who have retired from the military service and are eligible for service retirement are not eligible for veterans' preference points, except for those veterans who are "disabled" as defined in Section 2.60.130(N).

(Ord. 1255 §2, 2001)

A. The probationary period shall be regarded as an integral part of the selection examination process and shall be utilized for evaluating the newly hired or promoted employee's work abilities and performance.

B. Every peace officer employed in the district attorney's office and the sheriff's department shall satisfactorily complete a probationary period of not less than twelve consecutive monthly pay periods pursuant to Title 11, Chapter 2, Section 1004 of the California Administrative Code. Except as described in subsection (B)(1) of this section, all other county employees shall satisfactorily complete a probationary period of six consecutive monthly pay periods.

1. All deputy probation officers and juvenile counselors employed in the probation office, all deputy marshals employed by the courts, and all deputy district attorneys employed in the district attorney's office shall satisfactorily complete a probationary period of not less than twelve consecutive monthly pay periods.

C. A newly hired employee may be discharged at any time during the initial probationary period when the individual's work performance is found not to meet the required standards for the position or for any other job-related reason. The appointing authority shall provide proper notification to the employee and a separation report to the personnel officer.

D. An employee shall attain permanent status after completion of the applicable probationary period and appropriate performance evaluation report by the Appointing Authority.

E. An employee who is promoted shall serve a six consecutive monthly pay period probation in the higher classification, except employees promoted to peace officer classifications and employees promoted within deputy probation officer, juvenile counselor, deputy marshal, or deputy district attorney classifications, who shall serve a twelve consecutive monthly pay period probation.

F. During a probationary period an employee who had permanent status in a lower class, shall be regarded as still having permanent status in that class.

G. If an employee's performance does not meet the required standards for the class in which the individual was promoted, the employee shall have the right, in lieu of termination, to voluntarily demote back to the former class in which permanent status is held, if the classification still exists in the department.

H. A promoted employee shall attain permanent status upon completion of the applicable probationary period and upon completion of appropriate performance evaluation reports by the appointing authority.

I. When an employee takes leave in excess of thirty calendar days while serving any probationary period, the period of probation shall be extended accordingly.

(Ord. 1222 §1, 1998; Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990; Ord. 1087 §1 (part), 1986)