Recruitment, Applications, and Hiring

SCOPE: This policy applies to all Offices, Departments, employees, and volunteers of Larimer County and employees of the Office of the District Attorney, Eighth Judicial District, with the exception of employees of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

RESPONSIBILITY:  The Human Resources Director administers this policy.

POLICY:

I.   GENERAL POLICY:     
A. Employees are hired through open competition based on qualification and job fit. The County complies with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws (Reference 1) and its EEO policy (Reference 2). 
 

II.   APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT:     
A. Applicants must complete a County online application form and any other required items by the deadline date and time noted on each vacancy announcement for each position for which they want consideration.  Only applications submitted through the County’s online job system are eligible for consideration unless otherwise approved by the Human Resources Director.  Applications are accepted for current job postings, and positions with eligibility lists.
 

III.   JOB POSTINGS: 

A.  Vacant jobs are posted to the County Career Pages by the Human Resources Department.  If approved in writing by the Human Resources Director or designee (Enclosure 1), a temporary job lasting less than six months may not be posted.

B.  County postings will include a statement that Larimer County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer    
     (reference 2).

C.  External job postings are announced on the County Careers page for a minimum of eight days.

D.  Internal job postings are announced on the County Careers page for a minimum of four days.

E.  All costs associated with posting a job are the responsibility of the hiring department or office.

IV.   SCREENING EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS: 

A.  The County Human Resources Department retains all employment applications.    

B.  Applications are first screened by the hiring department/office on whether they meet minimum qualifications, and then all qualified applicants are screened on the basis of best qualified in terms of job-related criteria. If a hiring manager is considering a candidate who is a current or previous County employee, reference the Conditions of Employment policy (Reference 3).

C.  If there is an insufficient number of qualified applicants, the hiring manager must consult with their recruiter for next steps. 

D.  After screening of the qualified candidates is completed, the hiring department/office will then interview the top candidates.

E.  Hiring managers must notify all applicants of the status of their application within 30 calendar days of posting closing date.

F.  Individuals participating in the selection of candidates must avoid potential and actual conflicts of interest or bias. Any personal or non-work connection with an applicant must be disclosed to their HR Generalist.

V.   SELECTION AND OFFER

A.  A department or office that selects a current employee assumes applicable leave accruals. 

B.  Hiring Rates are determined by following Starting Pay in the Compensation policy (Reference 4).

C.  Hiring managers may request to offer additional vacation leave at hire in accordance with the Benefits policy (Reference 5).

D.  Decision Makers may consider a sign-on bonus with approval of the Human Resources Director and the County Manager (Enclosure 2).

VI.   ONBOARDING

A.  Once the candidate is onboarded, the offer letter, employment application, and new hire records must be uploaded to the personnel file (Reference 6). Any interviewing and hiring documents will be sent to Human Resources for retention. Documents sent to Human Resources must have the Interview Packet Submittal form (Enclosure 3) included as a cover page.

VII.   IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL COMPLIANCE: 

A.  New employees are required to provide evidence of eligibility for employment as established by the Department of Homeland Security - U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services-USCIS (reference 7) and must complete the appropriate portions of Form I-9 (enclosure 4).  The I-9 must be completed within the timeframe required by the USCIS.

B.  Each department or office will designate an employee to complete the employer's portion of the Form I-9 (Enclosure 4). 

C.  If a new employee is having difficulty producing the required documentation within the timeframe required by USCIS, the Decision Maker or designee will contact a Human Resources Generalist immediately. An employee may not perform further work for the County until the employee is able to produce the required documents.

D.  Hiring departments or offices are not permitted to maintain original or duplicate copies of the I-9 forms and supporting documents. The Human Resources Department will retain the I-9’s and copies of the employee's eligibility documentation in separate files. These files will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of compliance with applicable law.
 

VIII.   LIMITED TERM EMPLOYEE:

A.  Job postings for a Limited Term position must include “Limited Term.”

B.  Applicants offered a Limited Term position will receive the Limited Term offer letter. 

IX.   PRE-EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS: 

A.  An applicant must sign an offer letter before background checks are initiated.

B.  Background checks are based on the responsibilities and minimum qualifications of the job. 

C.  Background checks may be performed in-house or through a consumer reporting agency (third party vendor).  Checks performed by a consumer reporting agency must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (Reference 8).  Departments or offices conducting in-house background checks must notify Human Resources.

D.  Social media checks and internet searches of applicants are not permitted as part of the hiring process.  Departments or offices cannot request or require a candidate to grant them access to the candidate’s social media account(s).  This does not apply to corrections or law enforcement agency positions.

E.  Consumer Reporting Agency Background Checks under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA):

1. Applicants for employment and current employees must sign the FCRA Disclosure & Authorization form for the County to obtain a background check from a consumer reporting agency.
2. The County is legally required to respond to applicant and employee inquiries about a consumer reporting agency background check within five (5) days following receipt of the inquiry.

F.  Medical Information:

1. Medical information may only be requested after a conditional offer of employment is made to an applicant, or the applicant expresses a need for reasonable accommodation.  The information sought must be relevant to the applicant's ability to perform the essential functions of the job and be consistent with business necessity.  If the applicant is requesting reasonable accommodation, the hiring manager must contact their Human Resources Generalist.
2. Medical information obtained on an applicant must be kept separate from other records and will be kept confidential.

G. Drug Testing:

1. All applicants selected to work in jobs that are Department of Transportation regulated, required by funding source, including federal or other grants, law enforcement, and criminal justice will be required to undergo a post-offer, pre-employment drug screen. All offers of employment in these jobs are contingent upon a satisfactory result of testing. The contingent offer of employment shall be withdrawn for any applicant who tests Non-negative or Positive. Elected Officials may require pre-employment drug tests in their office for any job. The Elected Officials who require pre-employment drug screening are listed in Appendix C (Enclosure 5).
2. Applicants who refuse or fail to submit to testing on the originally scheduled date will not be considered further for employment except as approved by the Human Resources Director or designee.
3. Applicants whose test comes back as Negative Dilute will be required to immediately take a second test at the County’s selected drug and alcohol testing vendor. If the second test comes back as Negative Dilute, the applicant must immediately take a third test.  If the third test comes back as Negative Dilute, the County will consider this a negative drug test.

____________________________    
Jody Shadduck-McNally   
Chair, Board of County Commissioners    
(Approved by BCC – Consent Agenda – 03/17/2026)    
(Signature on original filed in Records Management)

Distribution:    
All County Department and Elected Officials    
Records Management SOP Manual (original)

CK/vhd

DATE:  March 17, 2026

EFFECTIVE PERIOD:  Until Superseded

REVIEW SCHEDULE:  Every two years in February, or as needed

CANCELLATION:  Recruitment, Applications, and Hiring; June 25, 2025

ENCLOSURE(S):

1.  Waiver of Temporary Posting, LCHR-69  
2.  Hiring Waiver - LCHR-68
3. Hiring Manager Interview Packet Submittal Form
4. Employment Eligibility Verification – Form I-9  
5. Elected Offices Requiring Pre-Employment Drug Testing, Appendix C

REFERENCE(S):

1.  Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws    
2.  Human Resources Policy, Legal Compliance
3.  Human Resources Policy, Conditions of Employment
4. Human Resources Policy, Compensation
5. Human Resources Policy, Benefits 
6.  Administrative Policy and Procedure 351.4/Records Retention Program    
7.  Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986    
8.  Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681