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KEARNY BOARD OF EDUCATION Kearny, New Jersey File Code: 4112.6 SAIF Code: 8320 POLICY |
PERSONNEL RECORDS
The Kearny Board of Education believes that the orderly operation of the school district requires the retention of all records bearing upon an employee’s qualifications for employment and employment history.
The Kearny Board of Education requires that sufficient records be compiled and maintained to demonstrate an employee’s qualifications for the position assigned; compliance with federal, state, and local benefit programs; conformity to district rules; the proper conduct of evaluations; and the employee’s entitlement, as appropriate, to tenure and seniority.
The Superintendent of Schools shall be responsible for the custody and maintenance of personnel records. A single, central file of documents shall be maintained; temporary, subsidiary records will be permitted for ease in data gathering only. An employee’s personnel file shall be maintained for six years following his/her termination of district service, provided the employment history record card is maintained a minimum of eighty years.
Records maintained in the personnel files of this district are not public records and are not open to inspection except as provided for in this Policy. Board minutes and other public records of this district and any computerized files maintained by this district may include only an employee’s name, title, position, assignments, salary, payroll record, length of service in the district and in military service, the date and reason for separation from service in this district, and the amount and type of pension a former employee receives.
Personnel records may be inspected by school administrators to the extent that such inspection is required in the performance of the inspector’s duties.
Personnel Records Policy File Code: 4112.6
Board members may have access to confidential information in the personnel files of only those employees recommended for or subjected to an employment action requiring a vote of the Board or where access to the information is essential for the performance of the Board member’s duties. Board member access to personnel files is limited to the relevant portion of the file and is available only through the Superintendent of Schools. Board members may freely inspect employment applications filed by candidates for district positions.
An employee may inspect his/her personnel file provided that the employee requests such access in writing, reviews the record in the presence of the administrator designated to maintain the file, makes no alteration or addition to the file nor removes any material from it, and signs a log attached to the file indicating the date on which it was inspected.
An employee may appeal to the Superintendent of Schools the inclusion or exclusion of records or for appropriate administrative review of the accuracy of any record in his/her personnel file.
The Superintendent of Schools shall prepare rules enumerating the records to be maintained for each employee of this district, including, as a minimum and as appropriate to the position, the completed application form, employment contract(s), a copy of the employee’s qualifying certification, transcripts, report of an employment physical examination, oath of allegiance, criminal background check, income tax forms, retirement registration, hospitalization forms, annuity forms, rate of compensation, attendance record, assignments to positions, completed evaluations, reports of disciplinary incidents, records of special awards or distinctions, and reports of annual or special physical and mental examinations.
Personnel Records Policy File Code: 4112.6
A. Content of Record
1. A personnel file shall be assembled and maintained for each
person employed by the Kearny School District. Each file shall contain the original or copies, as appropriate, of the following documents regarding the employee:
a. The employee’s current correct name, address,
telephone number, and birthdate;
b. Application form, including transcripts of all academic
work, records of prior military service, and other supporting documents;
c. Annual employment contract and/or annual salary
notice, signed by the employee;
d. Certificates and/or licenses required for employment;
e. Documentation of fulfillment of requirements for any
change in salary classification;
f. Income tax forms;
g. Retirement registration;
h. Hospitalization forms;
i. Annuity forms;
j. Rate of compensation;
k. Attendance record, including the starting and ending dates of all leaves of absence, whether the leave was paid or unpaid, and the purpose for which such leaves were granted;
l. Assignment to positions, including position title and building to which assigned;
m. Completed evaluations;
n. Reports of disciplinary incidents;
o. Records of special awards, commendations, or distinctions;
p. Oath of Allegiance;
q. Reports of physical and mental examinations required for cause.
Personnel Records Policy -4- File Code: 4112.6
2. No information will be placed in an employee’s file that does not pertain to the employee’s position in this district and the performance of the employee’s duties.
3. The content of personnel files will be reviewed annually and material no longer required will be destroyed.
B. Custodian of Personnel Records
1. The Superintendent of Schools is custodian of all personnel records.
2. Personnel records shall be maintained in the office of the Superintendent of Schools, who shall be records manager responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the files and for supervising access to the files.
C. Notice of Content of Files
1. Each employee shall be informed of the content of his/her personnel file.
2. Each employee will be notified of the inclusion in his/her file of any document that was not received from the employee or at the direction of the employee.
a. No evaluation form will be placed in a personnel file until it has been reviewed and signed by the employee.
b. No copy of a memorandum or letter sent by an administrator or other school official to an employee will be placed in the employee’s file unless the original and copy include the notation “cc: Personnel File” or other clear indication of the author’s intention to place the memorandum or letter in the employee’s file.
c. No report or letter or memorandum from any source, other than documents referred to in C2b above, may be placed in an employee’s file until a copy of the same has been delivered to the employee.
Personnel Records Policy File Code: 4112.6
D. Employee Access to Personnel Records
1. Each employee shall be granted access to his/her personnel file in accordance with these regulations, except as may have been negotiated with the employee’s majority representative.
2. Written request for access shall be submitted to the Superintendent of Schools. Except in unusual circumstances, access shall be granted only during the regular working hours of the office in which the file is kept.
3. The employee shall review the record in the presence of the
Superintendent of Schools and, at the employee’s request, a representative of the employee.
4. No alteration or addition or deletion may be made to the
file, except that the employee may append to any document in the file his/her comment on that document.
E. Appeal of Content of the File
1. The employee may appeal to the Superintendent of Schools the exclusion or inclusion of any portion of his/her personnel file or the accuracy of any information in the file.
2. An appeal must be made in writing on a form available in the Superintendent’s Office.
3. The Superintendent shall render a decision of the appeal as soon as possible, but not later than thirty days from the time the written appeal is submitted. The Superintendent’s decision shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the employee and the records manager responsible for the employee’s file.
4. Except as may be otherwise provided by contract negotiated with the employee’s majority representative, the appellant may appeal the Superintendent’s decision to the Board; a decision of the Board may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education.
Personnel Records Policy File Code: 4112.6
F. Access by Board Members and School Officials
1. Personnel files may be inspected by school officials only as required in the discharge of their professional or statutory duties and to the extent required in the discharge of those duties.
2. Personnel files may be inspected by Board members when such inspection relates to the Superintendent’s recommendation of a candidate for employment, promotion, transfer, dismissal, or discipline.
3. Much of the information included in an employee’s file is confidential; access to the employee’s file for professional reasons necessarily imposes on the person reviewing the file the duty to respect the confidentiality of the record.
G. Computerized Records
1. Computerized personnel records may include only the following
information about an employee:
a. Name, address, and telephone number;
b. Social security number;
c. Current assignment;
d. Work experience;
e. Employment date; and
f. Salary guide and step.
2. Computerized information may be used only for the following purposes:
a. Payroll;
b. An employee’s individual employment record; and
c. Studies, reports, or surveys conducted by the district or a governmental agency and authorized by the Superintendent of Schools, provided that such studies, reports, or surveys do not identify specific employees.
Adopted: May 16, 2005