The City of Elk Grove is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and professionalism.

The City is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, military and veteran status or any other status protected under state or federal law. For more details please see our Personnel Rules and Regulations.

Equal Employment Opportunity Program

To meet its commitment to complying with applicable federal and state equal employment opportunity laws, as well as to achieve the benefit of having a diverse workforce, the City of Elk Grove is committed to an active Equal Employment Opportunity Program (EEOP). All recruitment, hiring, placements, transfers, and promotions will be on the basis of individual skills, knowledge and abilities, and the feasibility of any necessary job accommodation, regardless of the above identified bases. All other personnel actions such as compensation, benefits, layoffs, terminations, training, etc., are also administered without discrimination. Equal employment opportunity (EEO) will be promoted through a continual and progressive EEOP.

The objective of an EEOP is to ensure non-discrimination in employment and wherever possible, to actively recruit and include for consideration for employment individuals in protected classifications as identified in applicable federal and state laws and as enumerated in Section 5.1 of these Rules and Regulations.

Announcement of Vacancy

Except as set forth below, or as provided in any applicable labor agreement/memorandum of understanding, all vacancies in full-time or management positions, except Department Heads, shall be posted by The Human Resources Department. If the City Manager determines that sufficient candidates exist within the City, the City Manager may limit eligibility for the position to current City employees. If there are not sufficient candidates within the City of Elk Grove workforce, then recruitment shall include external advertisement. The City Manager may fill a position without posting if determined to be in the best interests of the City. “Best interests of the City,” as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, fiscal, staffing, or operational needs of the City, along with the availability of a suitable candidate for the vacant position, such that the City Manager, in his or her best judgment, determines recruiting for the position by posting the vacancy is not warranted. A Department Head need not post for intradepartmental promotions.

Applications

A separate application must be submitted for each vacancy. For each application, applicants must complete the supplemental questions (if required) and submit any other required documentation as described in the specific job announcement. The application must be submitted during the announced recruitment period through the City’s electronic application program on the Human Resources website. The application form must be completed in sufficient detail to allow a job-related, comprehensive review and evaluation of the applicant’s qualifications. Failure to follow the outlined steps above may constitute failure of the initial step in the examination process and the application may be placed in the inactive files. It is the applicant’s responsibility to notify the Human Resources Department of any change in contact information during the recruitment process. The Human Resources Department shall be responsible to establish rules, procedures, and forms necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

All applications must be submitted through the electronic recruiting system on the City’s website, or to The Human Resources Department at the City of Elk Grove’s Administration building so that they may be entered into the Applicant Tracking system. If an applicant does not have access to a computer or the internet, there is an available computer with internet access at City Hall. The Human Resources Department will keep qualified job applications on file for one (1) year.

Qualifications

All applicants considered for a position in the City must be qualified for the work they will be required to do. The Human Resources Department will conduct the initial review of applications for possession of the minimum qualifications before sending the applications to the Subject Matter Expert (SME). In the event that a large number of applicants possess the minimum qualifications, the SME will select applicants who appear to be the most qualified based on their breadth and recency of experience to be invited to compete in the testing process. In determining whether or not an applicant is qualified, the Human Resources Department shall apply any or all of the following selection processes as necessary:

  1. Applications must be filled out completely. Please do not state “see resume,” answer all questions, supplemental questions, and add attachments if required. If an application is not filled out appropriately, the applications will be denied as incomplete. The application will be assessed based on the qualifying knowledge, skills, and abilities as listed on the application.
  2. To ensure a fair and equitable hiring process, applicant names will not be visible during the application screening process. This will allow for clear review of the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) listed on the application.
  3. Satisfactory evidence of certification, registration, license, or educational attainment where such requirement is stated in a class specification.
  4. Satisfactory evidence of compliance with experience requirements as set forth in a class specification.
  5. Successful completion of a written, performance, or oral examination, or a combination of two or more of such examinations, designed to test the applicant's knowledge, skills, physical ability, and personal attributes as related to the class of position for which the examination is established. Ratings of such examinations shall be in conformity with the provisions set forth on the examination announcement and shall be applied using appropriate techniques and procedures determining the final scores.
  6. Satisfactory evidence of status of the applicant's physical and mental health with regard to the job-related factors of the classification.
  7. Prior to beginning work, all persons selected for appointment must execute a loyalty oath to support and defend the Constitution and also agree to submit to fingerprinting and photographing for the purpose of identification.

Hiring Panel

The City works towards decreasing unconscious bias in the hiring process, which can be a barrier to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. An important component is to ensure the hiring panel composition is a diverse group of individuals with a wide variety of experiences and perspectives offering unique insights to questions asked and answered. While deviations may occur on a periodic basis, we make every effort to have a diverse interview panel.

Bias Awareness Training

In an effort to make the best decisions about candidates and to ensure an equitable interview process, the City of Elk Grove will provide Bias Awareness Training before every interview to the panel members who are participating in the process.

Disqualification of Applicants

Reasons applicants may be disqualified from consideration for employment include, but are not limited to:

  • The applicant does not possess the minimum qualifications and essential skills for the position
  • The applicant is not physically or mentally fit to perform the duties or assume the responsibilities of the position and a reasonable accommodation cannot be made
  • The applicant has demonstrated an unsatisfactory employment record
  • The applicant made false statements or misrepresentations on their application or in their interview
  • The applicant does not qualify under the City of Elk Grove Employment of Relatives Policy

Conditional Offer of Employment

All job offers must be approved by the Human Resources Department and will be on the City of Elk Grove standard offer letter format. After a conditional offer of employment is made, the offer is contingent upon full completion of, and acceptable results from, the pre-employment background process.

Sworn Personnel

  • Candidates selected to continue in the hiring process are given a Personal History Statement (PHS) packet to be completed.
  • Upon receipt of the completed PHS packet, candidates will be required to complete a fingerprint criminal background check utilizing the Department of Justice and be moved forward to the pre-employment background process.
  • A conditional offer of employment will be extended to candidates that successfully complete all of the steps outlined in the pre-employment background process.

Non-Sworn Personnel

  • Candidates successfully passing the interview will receive a conditional offer of employment and PHS packet to be completed.
  • Upon receipt of the completed PHS packet, candidates will be required to complete a fingerprint criminal background check utilizing the Department of Justice and be moved forward to the pre-employment background process. It should be noted that the conditional offer of employment is contingent upon successful completion of the pre-employment background process. The examinations in the pre-employment background process will vary according to the job classification.

Salary Placement

The City typically starts new employees between step one (1) and step three (3) of the salary schedule depending on experience with the exception of the Lateral Police Officer and Lateral Dispatcher position. Step placement in the salary schedule for these job classifications will be based on years of experience beginning the award date of the California POST Basic Peace Officer Certificate and the POST Public Safety Dispatchers’ Basic Certificate, respectively. Each year of experience will equate to one (1) step increase up to three (3) years or step three (3).

Pre-Employment Background Process

  1. Live Scan Fingerprinting

    Candidates will be required to complete a live-scan fingerprint through the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to provide evidence relating to any history of criminal convictions.

  2. Background Investigation

    Trained investigators conduct a background investigation of each candidate before further consideration.

    The background investigations are the responsibility of the Chief of Police, who may delegate investigations to individual investigators. This service may be contracted through an outside agency background service.

    The background investigation includes, but is not limited to, the following information:

    • Verification of the candidate’s credentials, educational background, employment, residence, credit check, citizenship, credit history, and driver’s license.
    • Review of any criminal or driving records.
    • Interviews of previous employers, neighbors, and personal references.

  3. Computer Voice Stress Analyzer Examination

    All applicants may undergo a pre-employment Computer Voice Stress Analysis (“CVSA”) examination administered by a qualified CVSA examiner. The CVSA examiner will report the results of the test to the Chief of Police or his/her designee. These results are incorporated into the selection process to determine the candidate’s suitability for employment. EGPD maintains the results on file in the employee’s background file.

  4. Polygraph Examination

    All applicants may undergo a pre-employment polygraph examination administered by a qualified polygraph examiner. The polygraph examiner will report the results of the test to the Chief of Police or his/her designee. These results are incorporated into the selection process to determine the candidate’s suitability for employment. EGPD maintains the results on file in the employee’s background file.

  5. Psychological Examination

    All applicants may undergo an emotional stability and psychological examination. These examinations are conducted by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. The professionals performing these tests report the candidate’s suitability in terms of acceptable or not acceptable to the Chief of Police or his/her designee. The Department maintains the results on file in the employee’s confidential and secure background file. These records remain on file during employment for the same duration as the personnel file and access is limited to those authorized by the Chief of Police.

  6. Physical Examination/Drug Screen

    Where positions require a medical examination after a conditional offer of employment is made, the offer is contingent upon full completion of, and acceptable results from, all medical examinations as required or tests that determine the fitness of the employee to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position. At the City’s expense, a licensed physician conducts a medical examination on each candidate for employment using valid, job-related, and non-discriminatory procedures. The test results are reported to the Chief of Police or his/her designee as qualified, qualified with restrictions, or not qualified. Any medical test conducted of an applicant will be job-related and consistent with the Police Department’s business necessity for conducting such a test. All such examinations or tests will be performed by an independent professional approved by the City of Elk Grove. The successful completion of a drug screen may also be a condition of employment, and a positive drug screen is sufficient to rescind an offer of employment.

Failure to Appear for Work

If a Candidate fails to report for work within the time period prescribed by the City of Elk Grove, the Candidate may be deemed to have declined the position.

Immigration Reform and Control Act (“IRCA”)

All offers of employment are contingent on verification of the candidate’s right to work in the United States. New employees will be asked to provide original documents verifying his/her right to work and, as required by federal law, to sign a Federal Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Form. If at any time an employee cannot verify his/her right to work in the United States, the City of Elk Grove may be obligated to terminate that employment.

The City of Elk Grove will fully comply with IRCA provisions, which govern the following:

  1. Recruitment and hiring - The City of Elk Grove will not knowingly hire an unauthorized alien. If the City of Elk Grove becomes aware of the hiring of an unauthorized alien on or after November 6, 1986, it may terminate that person in compliance with IRCA;
  2. Employment verification - All City of Elk Grove employees must provide original document(s) which establishes his/her identity and authorization to work in the U.S.;
  3. Record keeping - Records will be maintained by the City of Elk Grove consistent with the City’s Records Retention Policy; and
  4. Non-discrimination - IRCA prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring or discharge. A preference clause is provided for U.S. citizens. The City of Elk Grove may give preference to an U.S. citizen over a person who is an alien, but only if the two (2) individuals are equally qualified.