(A) Lake County maintains a recruitment and hiring process designed to allow all persons qualified and interested, an opportunity to apply. Applications for most County positions can be obtained from the individual division of government or department. Due to special requirements of the hiring process, applications for the Lake County Police Department, Auditor, Treasurer, Coroner, Recorder, Assessor, Surveyor, Clerk and Sheriff can be obtained from those offices. In accordance with Indiana state statute, applicants must also complete a Verification of Applicant for Employment for Compliance with Lake County's Nepotism Policy form.
(B) Internal Recruitment Procedure
(1) The County values its employees and encourages promotion and advancement from within and provides its employees an opportunity to apply for a vacancy before that opportunity is extended to the general public.
(2) Open positions will be posted for a period of five (5) working days internally unless otherwise noted by collective bargaining agreement, and a reasonable attempt will be made to post the vacancy in all departments in the County, easily accessible to department employees as well as in a common and designated area in each County-owned facility. As a general rule, internal bidders will file a job bid with the department with the open position and should be considered and/or rejected before outside applications may be considered. Temporary or seasonal employees may bid on any posted position, providing if that employee was actively employed during at least one day of the posting period. Employees who are completing a probationary period are not eligible to bid on a posted vacancy. Generally, after posting the form internally, and if the position has not been filled, the vacancy will then be posted for three (3) days minimum for external candidates.
(3) The decision to award the open position to an internal candidate is up to the department head and/or elected official that oversees that division of county government. Consequently, an internal candidate is not entitled to selection, and the elected official or department head may choose to seek outside candidates instead.
(C) Exceptions to the Posting Procedure
(1) Supervisory positions (those positions where an employee oversees other employees, processes or can authorize expenditures) may be filled by using either internal or external recruitment procedures.
(2) Positions that are being filled due to transfer or voluntary demotion may be waived at the discretion of the elected official who oversees that division of county government.
(3) Due to the short term nature of temporary or seasonal positions, the need to post these vacancies may be waived at the discretion of a department and after discussion between the department head and the elected official who governs that operation.
(4) Periodically, a position may be filled only to have the new employee leave the position, either voluntarily or involuntarily, within the first few weeks of employment. In the event that a vacancy occurs within thirty (30) days of filling a position, the vacancy does not need to be reposted unless the department head believes that it is in the best interest of the County to do so.
(D) Recruitment Procedure - External
(1) When the internal recruiting procedure has failed to attract qualified personnel for a valid job vacancy, candidates from outside current County employment will be sought from any or all of the following sources:
(a) Minority recruitment resources as specified in the County's affirmative action plan
(b) Walk in applicants
(c) Bulletin boards
(d) Newspaper advertising
(e) Professional journals
(f) Temporary employment agency
(g) State employment service
(h) Job bank applicants
(2) Positions will be held open for three (3) working days following public notice. All employment notices and/or ads shall prominently display the words “An Equal Opportunity Employer.”
(E) Hiring
(1) It is the responsibility of the department to contact individuals for interviews and testing, using appropriate unbiased questions and validated skills testing where relevant. In all positions requiring licenses or degrees, all offers will be contingent upon receipt of copies of licenses or transcripts of college work.
(2) Applicants will not be barred from consideration due to a misdemeanor criminal conviction unless the position has access to sensitive information or has responsibilities that may create conflict with that applicant's record. Applicants may be required to apply for a limited criminal background check depending on the position, and are responsible for the cost of that background check.
(3) Final selection of the applicant will be made by the elected official who oversees that department.
(F) Employment Processing and Paperwork
(1) Once a conditional offer of employment is made, whether it is for part-time, full-time, seasonal or temporary employment, the applicant, depending on departmental policy may be required to undergo a drug test. Further employment processing will depend on the test results. The cost of the testing shall be the responsibility of the applicant. If the applicant is hired for employment, all future drug/alcohol testing that occurs due to employment will be paid for by the County. A list of providers who may offer a discounted drug test will be provided by “Working Well” at St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point.
(2) Upon acceptance of the offer of employment (and results of a drug test if applicable), a new employee will be provided basic employment information such as days of work and first payday.
(3) The employment processing will also include the new hire's completion of various forms and paperwork required by the County, State or Federal Government:
(a) Submission of degrees, licenses, certifications or other proof of position requirements;
(b) Completion of an I-9 immigration form, W-4 form, any relevant deduction authorizations, personnel information file and employee identification card;
(c) Referral and completion of a physical examination if required;
(4) The employee will also receive relevant information on insurance/benefits, along with information regarding union status of the position being filled (If it is a union position).
(5) Every new employee is asked to sign a copy of the disclaimer found in the Introduction of this handbook that outlines and defines the “at-will” relationship between that employee and the County.