FORENSIC ATTENDANT

County of Los Angeles; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The County of Los Angeles, Department of Medical Examiner, is posting an emergency Forensic Attendant position related to the homelessness crisis. The role involves recovering and transporting decedents, maintaining morgue operations, and assisting investigators.

A high school diploma and one year of relevant experience are required, plus a valid California driver license and background checks. Initial employment is for up to 90 days with a possibility of permanency.

Qualifications

• Graduation from high school or possession of an equivalency diploma AND one year of experience in hospital, morgue or ambulance service moving or transporting patients or decedents.
• A valid California Class C Driver License is required to perform job-related essential functions.
• Background investigation, physical ability test, psychological evaluation, and medical screening are conditions of employment.

Responsibilities

• Drives a County vehicle to locations throughout the County to recover and transport bodies, specimens, or records to the Medical Examiner's facility.
• Maintains vehicles in operational condition.
• Keeps vehicle stocked with gurneys, stretchers, straps, sheets, and necessary supplies.
• Recovers, lifts, and transports bodies to the Department of Medical Examiner or other facilities.
• Receives and processes bodies into Department of Medical Examiner facilities; prepares bodies for release after autopsy.
• Collects and preserves physical and medical evidence.
• Performs case-related data entry to the Medical Examiner's computer system; keeps a log of morgue activities.
• Writes receipts for bodies, clothing, personal property, and evidence; fingerprints bodies per standards.
• Cleans autopsy room and sterilizes instruments; handles soiled/clean linens.
• Assist the Medical Examiner Investigators in physical recovery and lifting of decedents.
• Assist in autopsy procedures as needed.
• Perform other related duties as needed.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Associate of Science (A.S.) degree in Administration of Justice / Health / Physical Sciences / Nursing

Job description

Reposting Information

Position/Program Information

Exam Number: P4884A-EA

Type Of Recruitment: OPEN COMPETITIVE – EMERGENCY

First day of filing: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 8:00 AM, Pacific Time (PT). Applications will be accepted from November 12, 2024, at 8:00am PT and will remain open until the needs of the Department are met.

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness, and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

The Department of Medical Examiner is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Forensic Attendant vacancies related to the homelessness crisis.

Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

Before the end of your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%.

Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Forensic Attendant.

Essential Job Functions

• Drives a County vehicle to locations throughout the County to recover and transport bodies, specimens, or records from hospitals, nursing home, or other death scenes to the Medical Examiner's facility.
• Maintains vehicles in operational condition.
• Keeps vehicle stocked with gurneys, stretchers, straps, sheets, and necessary supplies.
• Recovers, lifts, and transports bodies to Department of Medical Examiner or other facilities.
• Receives and processes bodies into Department of Medical Examiner facilities; places bodies on autopsy tables; prepares bodies for release; and releases bodies subsequent to post mortem examination.
• Collects and preserves physical and medical evidence.
• Performs case related data entry to Medical Examiner's computer system; keeps a log on morgue activities; writes receipts for bodies, clothing, personal property, and evidence; fingerprints bodies in accordance with departmental standards.
• Cleans autopsy room and sterilizes instruments and equipment; delivers soiled linen to laundry; returns clean linen to morgue and storage room.
• Assist the Medical Examiner Investigators in physical recovery and lifting of decedents bodies, as needed
• Assist in autopsy procedures, as needed.
• Perform other related duties, as needed.

Requirements

Graduation from high school or possession of an equivalency diploma -AND- One (1) year of experience in a hospital, morgue or ambulance service moving or transporting patients or decedents.

License

A valid California Class C Driver License is required to perform job-related essential functions.

Successful applicants for positions that require driving must obtain and present a copy of his/her driving record from the California State Department of Motor Vehicles before final appointment. Applicants should not present a copy of their driving history until asked to do so by the hiring department. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether an applicant’s driving history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job. License must not be currently suspended, restricted, or revoked.

Desirable Qualifications

• One year of experience as an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professional, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), or Mortuary Removal Specialist.
• An Associate of Science (A.S.) Degree or higher, preferably in the following areas:
• Administration of Justice
• Health / Physical Sciences
• Nursing

PHYSICAL CLASS

4 - Arduous. Positions within this class involves frequent heavy lifting over 25 pounds, often combined with bending, twisting, or working on irregular surfaces; and occasionally requires extraordinary physical activity.

Appointee Must Be Willing To

• Perform a variety of physically demanding activities, such as frequent lifting and moving of decedents and heavy equipment, climbing down rocky cliffs, carrying a piece of equipment up steep hills, or removing corpses from the ocean.
• Work ANY shift, including nights, weekends, and/or holidays.
• Work overtime in order to meet the legal requirements and/or departmental needs associated with death investigations.
• Drive 75-100 miles one-way using a County vehicle or personal vehicle to various death scenes throughout the County of Los Angeles (mileage reimbursement is provided by the County).
• Assist in the physical recovery, packaging, lifting, and moving of decedents’ bodies including infants, children and bodies that may be fragmented, burned and/or in advanced stages of decomposition.
• Work in highly stressful situations.
• Develop and apply effective coping and self-care skills that maintain physical, mental, emotional well-being, a healthy perspective, and a clear and appropriate set of boundaries.
• Work in death scenes that present a variety of difficult environmental challenges, such as strong odors, extreme temperatures, dilapidated living conditions, and/or rugged terrain.

Candidates selected for appointment will be extended an offer of employment that is conditional upon the results of a background investigation, physical ability test, psychological evaluation, and medical screening. The physical ability test will consist of a body drag, gurney lift and stair climb with weights.

EXAM CONTENT

Before the end of your initial work assignment, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.

Additional Information

Application & Filing Information

Applications must be filed online only.

Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add [e-mail] as well as [e-mail], and [e-mail] to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

You have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County. Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance of the [time & date] deadline as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty, you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

Computer and Internet Access at Public Libraries: For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except as otherwise permissible under applicable laws, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a conditional offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and will also consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, And Inclusion (ARDI)

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Human Resources is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

Department Contact Name

Christian Martinez

Department Contact Phone

[phone]

Department Contact Email

[e-mail]

Teletype Number

[phone]

Employment Information

Any language contained in the job posting supersedes any language contained below.

This document is intended to provide general information about the recruitment process of the County of Los Angeles. Applicants with questions about a specific job posting should contact the exam analyst listed on the posting.

Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination Statement

The County of Los Angeles is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is committed to non-discrimination in the County workforce, regardless of age (40 and over); ancestry; color; ethnicity; religious creed; protected family or medical leave status; disability; marital status; medical condition; genetic information; military and veteran status; national origin; race ; sex; gender; sexual orientation; or any other characteristic protected by State or federal law. For more information, please visit: https://employee.hr.lacounty.gov/eeo-programs/.

Testing Accommodations For Applicants

The County of Los Angeles complies with all federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact the testing accommodation coordinator listed on the job posting. Hearing impaired applicants with telephone teletype equipment may leave messages by calling the teletype phone number on the job posting. For more information on accommodations, please visit: https://hr.lacounty.gov/accessibility/.

Fair Chance

The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except as otherwise permissible under applicable laws, you will not be asked to provide information about conviction history unless you receive a conditional offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and will also consider potential mitigating factors, which may include, but is not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with County Fair Chance Policies and the Fair Chance Act (Gov. Code Section 12952).

Employment Eligibility

Final appointment is contingent upon verification of U.S. citizenship or the right to work in the United States.

Career PathFinder

Resources to help current and prospective employees plan a career with Los Angeles County are available. To explore career paths to and from nearly all job titles, please visit our interactive Career PathFinder application at http://career-pathfinder.hr.lacounty.gov.

Veteran’s Credit

Pursuant to the County Charter and County policy, in all open competitive examinations (i.e., examinations open to everyone), the County of Los Angeles will add a credit of 10 percent of the total credits specified for such examination to the final passing score of an honorably discharged veteran, as well as the spouse of a deceased or disabled veteran, who served in the Armed Forces of the United States under specific conditions.

For more information on veteran’s credit, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205102_PPG_115.pdf

Revised September 2025