Sarpy County board approves streamlined hiring policy, shortens appeal window and extends rehire eligibility

Sarpy County’s Personnel Policy Board approved revisions to Rule 2 (County Employment Regulation 1) that consolidate five separate hiring regulations into a single hiring-process policy and revise timelines, preferences and rehire rules.

The changes were approved Jan. 15 in the Sarpy County boardroom with a 4–0 vote and one member absent. The board approved the edits "as submitted with the minor changes discussed," after Human Resources Director Mary Davis walked members through the rewrite.

The revision combines previously separate regulations on selection, employment lists, background checks and offers into one policy “to create a hiring process that outlines the process from the initial job posting to the candidate’s hiring,” Davis said. The policy standardizes posting and application rules, formalizes the role of subject-matter experts in scoring, and clarifies pre-employment screens and rehire treatment.

Key changes described in the discussion include: - Minimum posting period: vacancies will be posted a minimum of seven days; HR will work with hiring authorities to determine longer posting periods for senior or hard-to-fill positions. Davis said, "we're gonna post for a minimum of 7 days." - Online applications and centralized screening: applicants must apply through the county applicant tracking system; HR will screen for minimum qualifications and forward qualifying applications to subject-matter experts for scoring. - Scoring and preferences: subject-matter experts will rate candidates on knowledge, skills and abilities; HR applies veterans-preference points taken from state statute (5% for eligible veterans or spouses; 10% additional for disabled veterans). Mary Davis said the employee-preference point rate (currently 15%) was discussed and "we'd like to change that to 10%" during advisory-group review. - Eligibility lists and referral: candidates are ranked and an eligibility list is created; the top five comprise the referred list for department interviews. The eligibility list will remain active for 60 days or until exhausted. - Position-specific testing: departments may include additional testing (for example, 911 critical testing); HR will help develop or select vendors for standardized entrance exams when needed and provide reasonable accommodations. - Background checks and conditional offers: offers are conditional on position-appropriate pre-employment screens such as drug tests, medical exams or background checks. - Rehire window: the period during which a returning employee has no break in service was increased from 30 days to 180 days. Davis said, "we increased that to 180 days." - Appeal timeline and recordkeeping: the appeal period for hiring decisions was shortened from 15 days to seven days (calendar days); HR will maintain hiring records centrally in the new system.

Board members asked clarifying questions about scorer consistency and preference stacking. Davis said the hiring authority designates scorers and that typically two or three people will score applications; their scores are averaged to produce final rankings. She also clarified that existing employees receive veterans preference only upon initial hire, and that applicants must submit documentation (for example, a DD-214) to claim veterans preference.

The board voted to approve the revisions with the minor changes discussed; the motion was made by Jonathan Davidson and seconded by Randy Bennett. The official vote was recorded as four in favor and one absent.

The policy revision will replace the prior split regulations and move some promotion/transfer language into a separate policy to be considered later. HR indicated it will update the policy text to explicitly state calendar days for the seven-day appeal response.

Votes and next steps: the board approved the rewritten Rule 2 / County Employment Regulation 1 and directed HR to incorporate the minor edits discussed during the meeting before final posting and implementation.