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.
(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.
(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)