This page was created in order to help the Search Committee maintain the correct files according to federal law. It is critically important that the Search Committees know up front what must be kept so appropriate documents and notes can be saved as the search progresses.
Title 41 CFR § 60-1.12(a) covers record retention issues with respect to searches. This section lists that records that must be maintained include, but are not limited to, records pertaining to hiring, job advertisements and postings, applications and resumes, and tests/test results.
Search files must be kept for a period of three years from the effective date of the appointment resulting from the search process – including copies of each applicant’s letter of interest and curriculum vita or resume, and reference letters (if applicable). Additionally, the department search files must include search-related documentation enumerated in the Faculty and Professional Staff Search Guidelines, paragraph number 35.
(a) If departments received
hard-copy or electronic application materials without using HRSearch, the
department is responsible for maintaining all candidate materials in either
print or electronic media (such as a CD or floppy disk).
(b) If departments
are using HRSearch to receive application materials, Human Resources will
download candidate materials electronically and maintain these records on
behalf of the department.
(c) After HRSearch
records are archived, Human Resources will remove the vacancy from the
university’s website.
(d) Please note
that the employment document, itself, cannot be processed by Human Resources
until the department certifies that it has concluded the search in accordance
with this section and archived required records.
The individual
notes of search committee members that are intended for their personal use only
during search committee discussions are not to be retained with search
records. A summary of observations is
typically prepared by the search committee secretary or chair, reflecting the
committee’s collective perception of candidates and are retained with search
records. The summary observations of
candidates should reflect the perceptions of the committee as a whole, not the
perceptions of individual committee members.
The EEO/AA
Officer in Human Resources is responsible for maintaining a record of each
search process, including EEO/AA analyses that have been conducted on applicant
pools, for a period of three years from the effective date of the appointment resulting
from the search process. EEO/AA records
are “process” files and do not include copies of individual letters of
interest, curriculum vitae or resumes, or disposition letters.