This chapter establishes policies and procedures for recruiting
and hiring of applicants and advancing employees within the town personnel
system. Selecting and advancing employees shall be on the basis of
education (to include current certifications and/or licenses as deemed
necessary), experience, ability, knowledge, and skill levels relevant
to the vacant position and as directly applicable to the requirements
outlined in the job description for the position. Current and past
work references may also be considered and a skills test may be administered
for some positions. The town strives to recruit and select the best
qualified persons for positions in an open and competitive manner
and to ensure equal employment opportunity for all applicants.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Request
for recruitment form.
When a vacant position in the town
needs to be filled, the hiring department director will fill out and
submit a request for recruitment form to the finance director and
town manager for approval and signatures. The town manager will forward
the approved request for recruitment form to the human resources director
for action. The human resources department will develop the vacancy
announcement with a specific number assigned and shall specify position
title, opening/closing dates for recruitment period, a complete job
description (including minimum qualifications), the place and manner
of completing employment application, and other pertinent information.
The human resources department will take appropriate action to recruit
or solicit employment applications from the general public and current
employees interested in the vacant position.
B. Recruitment.
The human resources department, upon consultation with the town
manager for management/director vacancies or the hiring department
director for department vacancies, shall establish a means to effectively
advertise and recruit for vacant positions. Job vacancy announcements
shall specify title, FLSA classification, basic duties, minimum qualifications,
place and manner of accepting employment application and other pertinent
information.
C. Internal
posting.
All vacant full-time and part-time positions
will normally first be posted internally for consideration by current
employees. Internal postings will be for a minimum of five (5) working
days. Postings will be made in the lobby of the human resources department
offices. Copies of postings may be given to every department director
and employee union. All interested applicants must complete a town
employment application form and any other specified application documents
and submit all required materials, fully completed, to the human resources
department by the closing date listed on the vacancy announcement.
D. External
posting.
If no internal employees apply, or if an internal
applicant is not selected for the vacant position, the human resources
department will post the position externally. The position at a minimum
will be listed on the town website and the New Mexico department of
workforce solutions website. External postings will be for a minimum
of five (5) working days. All interested applicants must complete
a town employment application form and any other specified application
documents and submit to the human resources department by the closing
date listed on the vacancy announcement.
E. Internal/external
posting.
The town manager may order a position to be
simultaneously posted both internally and externally based on the
specific needs of the town or the position.
F. Incomplete,
late or inaccurate applications.
Applications submitted
which are not complete, do not include all required information or
materials or are not submitted at or prior to the indicated deadline
may, at the sole discretion of the town, be rejected. Applications
that include inaccurate or false information may be rejected or excluded
from further consideration.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Applicants must submit a town application for employment and
any other specified application documents for full-time, part-time
and temporary vacancies during the recruitment period. A separate
application must be submitted for each position for which the person
wishes to be considered. The employment application submitted should
specify the vacancy announcement number and the position title for
the vacant position to which the applicant is applying. The town reserves
the right to reject any or all applications that indicate on its face
that the applicant does not possess or meet the minimum qualifications
required for the position. Applicants and subsequently hired applicants
who make false statements or who are found to have engaged in any
type of deception or fraud in the application, testing, or background
check process shall be rejected or immediately terminated from employment.
In addition, an applicant shall be considered ineligible for hire
and/or rehire, if the applicant fails to successfully complete or
refuses to complete the required written, verbal or physical agility
testing, skills or abilities testing or other requirements as directed
by the human resources department.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Rejected employment applications and other specified application
documents collected by the human resources department will be retained
for three (3) years from the closing date of the recruitment period.
Rejected employment applications will be scheduled for records destruction
with the town clerk’s office on the following year after completion
of the third year of retention.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Applicants may be subjected to competitive testing which may
include, but not limited to: rating of education and experience, written,
oral, or physical test. The town may request a demonstration of the
skills or abilities needed to perform the essential job function in
accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 USC
section 12101; see 29 CFR part 1630.14(a) pre-employment inquiry).
The human resources department shall maintain and assure the confidentiality
and security of all examinations and processes. Examinations shall
be developed in accordance with established professional techniques
and relevant federal laws, regulations, and guidelines.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Once
the recruiting process is closed, all applications, including references
and employment history, will be reviewed/evaluated to make sure they
are complete and the applicants meet the requirements of the position.
Applicants who best meet the requirements of the position will be
invited to appear for an employment interview with the department
director in whose department the vacancy exists and other designated
interview panel members, normally consisting of three (3) to five
(5) individuals with general or specific knowledge of the position
or field. Interviews of candidates for classified union-eligible positions
shall typically also include a representative of the employee union.
The interview panelists will evaluate each candidate and make a hiring
recommendation to the department director and/or town manager.
B. The
department director will make a selection to fill the vacant position
and shall justify the selection in writing on the recommendation for
hire form (for external candidate) or employment status change form
(for internal candidate). The department director will submit the
recommendation for hire form to the human resources director, the
finance director (for verification of funds) and the town manager.
The town manager, in consultation with the department director and
upon reviewing the panel findings and recommendations of the HR and
finance departments, will make the final hiring decision for all vacant
positions and will authorize the selection by his/her signature.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Public health and safety demand that employees be physically
able to perform the duties of the job classification to which they
are hired. The physical requirements of the job constitute bona fide
occupational qualifications. The town will also accommodate employees
and applicants in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities
Act (ADA) and provide “reasonable accommodation” when
the cost of such is deemed “reasonable” within the town’s
ability to pay, and where to do so does not impair the town in its
business necessities.
A physical examination may be required before an applicant is
appointed/hired to any full-time, part-time or temporary vacant position
conducted at the expense of the town. The results of the exam will
be evaluated by the human resources director and if needed, the department
director. If the results of the exam give indication of physical limitations
that would prevent the applicant from reasonably performing the duties
of the position, consistent with ADA regulations, the applicant may
be rejected as not meeting the required qualifications for the job.
A disabled applicant may be required to submit to a physical exam
only subsequent to a job offer being made and only if all new hires
are required to do the same.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Candidates selected for any position will be required to submit
to, and successfully pass, a post-offer drug and alcohol testing process.
Failing or refusing drug testing will make it impossible to qualify
the candidate, therefore resulting in a denial of employment. Subject
to the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), any
applicant who tests positive for the presence of illicit drugs will
be denied employment.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
All candidates selected for employment with the town must agree
to a thorough background check which may include previous employment
verification, reference checks, motor vehicle driving history, proof
of education level and professional certifications, criminal record
check, and National Sex Offender Registry. Positions in the HR and
finance departments, as well as public safety positions, will additionally
require a full credit check. The town is subject to the Criminal Offender
Employment Act, sections 28-2-1 to 28-2-6 New Mexico Statutes Annotated
1978, and may take into consideration a conviction, but the conviction
will not operate as an automatic bar to obtaining public employment.
The town may only take into consideration a conviction after the applicant
has been selected as a finalist for the position.
If you are a finalist (1 of the top 3 applicants being interviewed
and considered for a position) you will be asked about and the town
will verify any motor vehicle or criminal violations as part of the
employment investigation process.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. All
candidates who have accepted an offer of employment with the town
shall complete and sign the Employment Eligibility Verification I-9
Form the first day of employment or within no later than three (3)
days of hire. On the form, an employee must attest to his or her employment
authorization. Also, the employee must present to the human resources
representative acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment
authorization. The town will examine the employment eligibility and
identity documents an employee presents. This list of acceptable documents
can be found on the last page of the I-9 Form. The town human resources
representative will complete the I-9 Form to document verification
of the identity and employment authorization of each new employee
(both citizen and noncitizen) hired for employment and will retain
the I-9 Form for three (3) years after the date of hire or for one
year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. I-9 Form
records retained by the town will be made available for inspection
by authorized government officials from the Department of Homeland
Security, Department of Labor or Department of Justice, if necessary.
B. The
town participates in E-verify and uses an internet based system to
compare information from an employee’s Employment Eligibility
Verification I-9 Form, to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment
eligibility.
The town human resources department also reports new hires and
rehires to the New Mexico New Hires Directory through their internet
based system as required under New Mexico law and the federal Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of
1996, which requires employers to report newly hired and re-hired
employees to a state directory within twenty (20) days of their hire
date.
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(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Relatives
or immediate family members of current employees are disqualified
from occupying a position (either through hiring, promotion, or transfer)
that will be working directly for or supervising a current town employee.
The town council, with recommendation and advice of the human resources
director and/or town manager, may waive this provision by approval
of a resolution, when this relationship will not create a direct or
indirect supervisor/subordinate relationship; or will not create either
an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of
interest and another qualified candidate or employment alternative
is unavailable.
B. For
the purposes of this provision, relatives or immediate family members
are any persons who are related by blood or marriage to include spouse,
domestic partner, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, stepparent,
children, domestic partner children, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
stepchild, brother, stepbrother, brother-in-law, sister, stepsister,
sister-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
great-grandchild, great-grandparent and cousins.
C. Employees
who marry or become part of a relative relationship or members of
the same household after assuming a position may continue employment
as long as there is not:
1. A direct
or indirect supervisor/subordinate relationship between the employees;
or
2. An
actual conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
If one of the above situations occurs, the town will attempt
to transfer one of the affected employees to another suitable position
within the town organization, without loss of pay or seniority to
the employee. If an accommodation of this nature is not feasible,
the employees will be permitted to determine which of them will resign.
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(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
All new employees will be provided with a new hire benefits
orientation upon hire with the town. Benefit and insurance enrollments
will be conducted by the human resources department.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)