EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

2.1EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

______County is an equal opportunity employer and is dedicated to the principals of equal opportunity in any term, condition, or privilege of employment. ______County does not discriminate against applicants or employees on the basis of age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or transgender status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.

______County prohibits retaliation against an employee for filing a complaint under this policy or for assisting in a complaint. If you perceive retaliation for making a complaint or your participation in the investigation, please follow the complaint procedure outlined below. The situation will be promptly investigated.

2.2AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY POLICY

______County intends to comply with all state and federal laws regarding equal protection of and equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities. If an employee has requested accommodation under the ADA and provided prior medical evidence of a disability under the ADA to the Human Resources Officer, and the accommodation process conducted by that office has resulted in a determination that the employee can be reasonably accommodated in the current or another position; the supervisor and all coworkers shall respect that accommodation plan to the best of his or her ability and refrain from acts of retaliation against the employee. Questions should be directed to the Human Resources Officer. Complaints under the ADA may be filed under the illegal Harassment procedures explained under DUTY TO REPORT VIOLATIONS section, below.

2.3SELECTION AND PROMOTION POLICY

Selection for, and promotion to, all open positions will be based on a factual comparison of the ability and qualifications of all applicants, whether currently employed by the county or not. Qualifications for an open position include an applicant’s relevant competencies, knowledge, skills, experience, and other commonly accepted evidence of the individual’s ability to successfully perform the requirements of a position. Department heads and elected officials are responsible for applying these principles to the recruitment, selection, and advancement of candidates and employees. Supervisors may be assigned these responsibilities with the proper oversight of elected officials or Department Heads.

A vacancy may be filled from within any department by qualified current employees, or candidates may be limited to qualified existing county employees. If public recruiting is used, qualified applicants may be attracted by the use of private or public job or recruiting services, public advisement, posting of notices, or any other method reasonably calculated to attract a wide community of qualified applicants. Any applications must be reviewed on the basis of the above principles. Tests, interviews, references, and other commonly accepted selection processes may be used to determine the most qualified candidate.

______County Management shall not knowingly employ or contract with an illegal alien.

2.4PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL

A complete post-offer, pre-employment, physical examination may be required for all applicants to specifically designated positions before any applicant may take a position. The examination may include drug and alcohol tests performed by a County designated physician. The County will be liable for the expense of the required post-offer, pre-employment physical. The purposes of this examination shall be to ensure that the applicant conforms to required law; that the applicant can perform the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation; and to ensure the applicant’s immediate physical condition upon starting work will not endanger the health, safety, or wellbeing of existing employees. Compliance with this will be shown by a documentation provided by the CountyPhysician complying with the standards set by the Human Resource Officer and the CDL requirements.

All legal requirements and county procedures relating to Equal Employment Opportunity and the Americans with Disabilities Act must be met in formulating, administering, and screening applicant or employees under any pre-employment test or physical. Human Resources will coordinate the appointment with the designated physician and the employee. In no event shall an applicant be required to take such a physical before being provided in writing, a conditional offer for the job. Such written conditional offer shall be prepared and delivered by the Human Resource office, not the supervisor. In no event shall an applicant for a designated position be allowed to start work until the post-offer physical results have been received by and approved in writing by the Human Resource Officer.

2.5UNLAWFUL HARRASSMENT

______County is committed to maintaining a positive working environment free of unlawful harassment and which is sensitive to the diversity of its employees. In doing so, the organization prohibits sexual harassment and harassment because of age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Unlawful harassment includes verbal or physical conduct that has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Actions based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic will not be tolerated. Prohibited behavior includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Written form such as cartoons, e-mail, posters, drawings, or photographs.
  • Verbal conduct such as epithets, derogatory comments, slurs, or jokes.
  • Physical conduct such as assault, or blocking an individual's movements.

This policy applies to all employees including managers, supervisors, co-workers, and non-employees such as customers, clients, vendors, consultants, etc. Employees who violate this rule are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge. Every employee shares the responsibility for promptly bringing to the county’s attention conduct that interferes with providing a work environment free of illegal discrimination and harassment.

2.6SEXUAL HARRASSMENT

Because sexual harassment raises issues that are to some extent unique in comparison to other harassment, ______County believes it warrants separate emphasis.

______County strongly opposes sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual conduct. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when:

  • Submission to such conduct is made explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment.
  • Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for decisions affecting an individual's employment.
  • Such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

All employees are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and businesslike manner at all times. Inappropriate sexual conduct that could lead to a claim of sexual harassment is expressly prohibited. Such conduct includes, but is not limited to, sexually implicit or explicit communications whether in:

  • Written form, such as cartoons, posters, calendars, notes, letters, e-mail.
  • Verbal form, such as comments, jokes, foul or obscene language of a sexual nature, gossiping, or questions about another's sex life, or repeated unwanted requests for dates.
  • Physical gestures and other nonverbal behavior, such as unwelcome touching, grabbing, fondling, kissing, massaging, and brushing up against another's body.

2.7EEO/Harassment Complaint Procedure

If an employee believes there has been a violation of the EEO policy or harassment based on the protected classes outlined above, including sexual harassment, the employee must use the following complaint procedure. ______County requires employees to make a timely complaint to enable ______County to promptly investigate and correct any behavior that may be in violation of this policy.

Reports may be submitted orally or in writing. If a verbal report has been made before, it is suggested to make the report in writing. A complainant may also include a suggested method of resolution. A violation of these rules may be reported to:

(1) Any supervisor or manager;

(2) Department human resources manager; or

(3) CountyHuman Resources Office

(4) CountyAdministrator

All complaints will be thoroughly and promptly investigated. A complaint will be kept as confidential as practicable. If ______County determines that an employee's behavior is in violation of this policy, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the offending employee, up to and including termination of employment.

2.8EMPLOYMENT OF RELATIVES (Nepotism)

No applicant or employee will receive preferential consideration for employment, promotion, or transfer because of a relationship to another employee or board member.

Members of an immediate family, defined as spouse, parent, parent-in-law, guardian, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, grandchild, or step mother, father, brother, sister, daughter or son, or any person residing in employee's household may be employed in the same department, except where the following exist:

a.A family member directly or indirectly would exercise supervisory, appointment, or dismissal authority or disciplinary action over another immediate family member;

b.A family member would audit, verify, receive, or be entrusted with moneys received or handled by another immediate family member; or

c.An immediate family member would have access to employee’s confidential information, including payroll and personnel records.

Volunteers and temporary employees may be excluded from the nepotism clause. Exceptions to this policy may be considered and approved by the Board of County Commissioners or their designee, in the event that another candidate or applicant cannot reasonably provide the necessary services.

Should marriage or other change in status result in a violation of this policy, the Board of County Commissioners or their designee may require one of the employees to resign.