Town Is An EEOC Employer

According to Christiansburg's Human Resource Director, the Town of Christiansburg is compliant with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) hiring practices.  

Clay McCoy, SPHR, took issue with a previous post on this blog, and reviewed Federal law known as Title 7 (Civil Rights) and State Code Chapter 15 (Counties, Cities and Towns).  He doesn't claim to be incapable of making errors, but takes these responsibilities seriously.  So seriously that some online (probably anonymous) comments got his attention.  After being made aware of these comments, McCoy reviewed the Town employment application’s statement referring to tracking unsolicited applications and “agreed that [he] could see how the statement could have been easily misinterpreted.”     

McCoy explained the normal process for hiring, referring also to the Town's Employee Handbook (not found online) which states qualified internal candidates who apply for similar positions or promotions are encouraged. 

Typically, a hiring panel of three reviews applications and then interviews finalists for open positions.  This may include McCoy or someone trained in behavioral  interviewing and legally compliant hiring practices, someone from the hiring department, and someone who is very familiar with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform job duties.  

If a similar job reopens within 120 days of advertising, it typically is not reposted as a viable pool of applicants is already available.  Except for a very finite job classification, applications are only accepted for open positions.  Applications are tracked and retained in compliance with EEOC and state records retention rules.  

When applicable -- such as seeking experienced finance or aquatic personnel -- open positions are advertised in local, regional, statewide or industry related publications including VML or VACO.  These jobs are also posted on the town's website and the HR office sends out job notifications to area groups which may be able to help attract minority candidates, such as the local chapter of the NAACP.  “We are also very proud of our online application feature for available positions on our website, which streamlines the application process and has been well received by applicants.”  

Additionally, there is regional participation with other jurisdiction's HR peers including those in Radford, Blacksburg and Montgomery County.  This allows sharing areas of expertise, leveraging dollars and resources to create economies of scale to enable regional local governments to offer timely and cost-effective training topics to employees and share “best practices” with counterparts in other localities. 

There simply is not a requirement for the town to publish or post any position per McCoy, and restated by Kailani Memmer (Christiansburg's legal counsel) during the May 3 council meeting.  Yet open positions typically are posted. 

This topic came up recently due to the process used to hire the new Fire Chief and the anticipated resignation of the current Rescue Squad Captain.  This is not, per Town Charter, a task for Town Council and is instead an administrative responsibility.   The Town Charter only provides for Council employment appointments for Town Manager, Chief of Police, Treasurer/Finance Director and Town Attorney.  

In the case of the Fire Department, McCoy stated there was a clearly qualified candidate who had "the support of a majority of volunteers" in this department.  The situation is slightly different with the Rescue Squad, and in fact a formal resignation from the incumbent has not yet been submitted.  Each department also has its' own distinct set of by-laws.  Council directed the job be advertised, and so it will be.  

So while some may grumble about who got what job, or mumble about nepotism or favoritism, citizens should know the Town of Christiansburg takes hiring processes very seriously and strives to offer valuable services to employees and applicants alike.