SECTION G: PERSONNEL
GAA GOALS
GAAA EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES p. 2
GAB FRINGE BENEFITS p. 2
GAC STAFF INVOLVEMENT IN
DECISION-MAKING p. 2
GAD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES p. 3
GAE COMPLAINTS p. 3
GAEA GRIEVANCES p. 4
GAEB PROHIBTION OF RETALIATION p. 4
GAEC BULLYING p. 4
GAED VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE
p. 4
GAEE STAFF WELLNESS p. 4
GAG SEXUAL HARASSMENT p. 6
GAGA CONFLICT OF INTEREST p. 6
GAGB NEPOTISM p. 6
GAH STAFF-COMMUNITY RELATIONS p. 7
GAHB STAFF POLITICAL ACTIVITIES p. 7
GAK PERSONNEL RECORDS p. 7
GAL SALARY DEDUCTIONS p. 7
GAM STAFF RIGHTS
GBA COMPENSATION GUIDES
GBB PERSONNEL POSITIONS p. 9
GBBA QUALIFICATIONS
GBD HIRING p.
10
GBDA BACKGROUND
p. 11
GBF ORIENTATION p.
11
GBG PROBATION p.
11
GBH SUPERVISION p.
11
GBI EVALUATION p.
11
GBJ PROMOTION p.
12
GBKA LAY-OFF
(REDUCTION-IN-FORCE) p.
13
GBKB SUSPENSION/SEPARATION p.
13
GBM TRANSFER p.
15
GBN SEPARATION (TERMINATION) p.
15
GBO RESIGNATION p.
16
GBQ RETIREMENT p.
16
GBRA HEALTH
EXAMINATIONS p.
16
GBRB TIME SCHEDULES p.
16
GBRC STAFF INTERNET USAGE p.
16
GBRD STAFF MEETINGS p.
16
GBRE EXTRA DUTY p.
16
GBRF EXPENSES p.
16
GBRG NON-SCHOOL EMPLOYMENT p.
17
GBRGB TUTORING FOR PAY p.
17
GBRHB CONFERENCES
GBRI LEAVES
GBRIA LEGAL LEAVE p.
18
GBRIB UNPLANNED/PLANNED p.
18
GBRIC FAMILY LEAVE p.
18
GBRID MILITARY LEAVE p.
18
GBRIE BEREAVEMENT LEAVE p.
19
GBRIF LEAVE WITHOUT PAY /LEAVE OF
ABSENCE p.
19
GBRIG ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE p.
19
GBRJ ARRANGEMENT FOR
SUBSTITUTES p.
19
GBRK PERSONAL
LEAVE (VACATIONS) p. 19
GBRM PERSONAL PHONE CALLS/
GBU CODE OF PROFESSIONAL
ETHICS p.
20
GOALS
The purpose of the
Personnel Policies is to provide a system of personnel administration for the
The following principles
will govern personnel matters:
1. All appointments, promotions, measures for
control, separations, etc., shall be on the basis of objective criteria.
2. Fair and equitable rates of pay with due
observance of the principle of equal pay for equal work and suitable
differences in pay for differences in work.
3. Service to
The Enemy Swim Day School Board’s
specific personnel goals are:
1. To employ the best available personnel to
staff the school system;
2. To provide attractive compensation and
benefits for staff welfare;
3. To develop and implement personnel evaluation
processes which will contribute to the improvement of staff capabilities and
the learning program;
4. To provide a staff development-training
program for all employees to improve the educational program, offer
opportunities for growth in the Dakota culture and aid each staff member’s career aspirations;
5. To assign personnel so as to ensure they are
utilized as effectively as possible;
6. To develop a climate which will produce the
highest staff performance, morale and satisfaction.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
EMPLOYMENT GAAA
There shall be no
discrimination based on race, sex, age, color, religion, handicap or national
origin, in hiring, placement, assignment, formal and informal training,
promotion, layoff, recall and termination.
The legal policy of Indian preference shall be followed.
FRINGE
BENEFITS GAB
Fringe benefits will
include: Unemployment
Insurance
Workman’s
Compensation
Social
Security
Medicare
Other benefits contingent
upon funding: Health Insurance
Vision
Plan
Life
Insurance
Retirement Plan
Dental
Plan
Other employee plans will
be offered at the employees’ expense: AFLAC
UNUM
Life Insurance
STAFF INVOLVEMENT IN
DECISION-MAKING GAC
The Superintendent shall be
responsible for ensuring procedures of which are designed to involve employees
in decision-making in matters affecting their conditions of employment, evaluation,
educational planning, school climate development, community involvement,
student activities development, and related development activities. Employee supervisory personnel shall be
responsible for ensuring proper, appropriate, and timely involvement of staff
in decision-making, policy development recommendations, and other related
activities in a non-restrictive communication approach which promotes Dakota
traditional values, employee self-esteem and creativity, established policies
and procedures of the Board, and professional ethics.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES GAD
The School Board will
encourage employee formal, in-service, and other types of on-going personal and
professional development opportunities for employees of the School which are
designed to increase employee abilities to continually improve performance in
their role at the School. The
Superintendent shall be responsible for coordinating the implementation of a
Pre-service Workshop for all employees immediately prior to the beginning of
each school term. Employees shall, as a
condition of employment at the School, be required to participate in the
Pre-service Workshop each year. The
Superintendent may provide for the implementation of an employee In-service
Training Needs Assessment during each school term to determine employee
training needs deemed as most beneficial for the school term. Whenever appropriate and available, the
Superintendent may work with representatives of the
The School Board will
assist staff with reimbursement toward advanced degrees if it is applicable to
the employee’s position and/or will increase the employee’s knowledge for
school improvement. The employee must
agree to remain at the ESDS for at least two contract years (if contract is
offered) beyond the reimbursement year.
Failure to abide will forfeit professional development funding and the
whole amount must be paid in full to the School. The School Board will reimburse tuition up to
3 credit hours and books per semester not to exceed $400.00. The total yearly reimbursement will not
exceed $800.00. The yearly professional
development calculations will operate on the school year calendar beginning July
1 and end on June 30.
COMPLAINTS GAE
The School Board shall
provide employees with a specific process and procedure for resolving
work-related complaints that are designed to:
1. Resolve employee complaints at the most
immediate administrative level;
2. Limit overall disruptions to the delivery of
services to students;
3. Ensure confidentiality and consistency
regarding employees and application of policies and procedures;
4. Ensure due process for employees.
A
“Complaint” form and procedures for the form have been developed and are on
file at the Personnel Office. All
complaints shall be filed with the Personnel Office on the approved form and
according to the approved written procedures.
It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure that the form is filled
out completely and that copies of all documents to be considered are in the
packet submitted. No matter shall be
considered as a complaint unless the applicable forms are filled out
completely.
Specific steps to be
followed in the processing of any employee complaints:
STEP (1): The
employee is to complete a complaint form and meet with their immediate supervisor
to discuss the complaint in an effort to resolve the difficulty. The supervisor will respond within 2 working
days.
STEP (2): If
the employee is not satisfied with the decision of their supervisor, the
employee shall submit their written complaint within two working days to the
Superintendent, with a copy to their immediate supervisor, the Superintendent
will respond within 2 working days. The
Superintendent’s decision is final. In
the event that the Superintendent is the immediate supervisor of an employee
who issues a complaint the written complaint will be submitted to the school
board for further action.
GRIEVANCES GAEA
Grievances are matters the
deal with contractual issues. A written
grievance form shall be submitted to the Superintendent. Failure of an employee to properly utilize
established procedures for processing grievances would result in disciplinary
action for: Suspensions, Promotions or Terminations. All Grievances shall be submitted to the
school board. The school board will make
a decision within five working days. THE
DECISION OF THE SCHOOL BOARD SHALL BE CONSIDERED FINAL.
PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION GAEB
The
BULLYING GAEC
Bullying is unacceptable and shall not be
tolerated. No employee or student of the school may bully another person. Any employee or student in violation of JCAC
will be subject to disciplinary action. Bullying
can be/but is not limited to: verbal, physical, gestures, look, intimidation or
harassment. Staff will treat students and other staff with mutual respect.
VIOLENCE
IN THE WORKPLACE GAED
Violence occurs whenever
anyone inflicts or threatens to inflict physical or emotional injury or
discomfort upon another person’s body, feelings or possessions. Violence is not tolerated in school, at
school activities, or on school property.
Employees who feel they have been threatened by violence will notify
their supervisor who is responsible for conducting an investigation. Discipline procedures will be utilized up to
and including expulsion or termination.
STAFF WELLNESS GAEE
The board will encourage
staff to live a healthy lifestyle.
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)
A referral program for the
Employee Assistance to assist employees to resolve a wide range of personal
problems that can have a negative effect on their job performance will be
provided.
a. All
employees of the School no matter their job title or responsibilities will have
access to the EAP.
b. Most
problems can be successfully resolved provided that the problem is identified
early and proper assistance is obtained.
c. All
employees will be given an opportunity to receive employee assistance, however
any continual and/or habitual problems affecting their job performance will be
addressed solely with the established policies governing disciplinary action.
DRUG
To maintain a safe learning
and working environment, and according to regulations established for the Drug
Free Work Place Act, the following procedure is established:
Any Location which school
business is conducted, whether at this or any other site is declared to be a
DRUG
1. All
employees are prohibited from unlawfully manufacturing, distributing,
dispensing, possessing, or using controlled substances in the workplace. (This
includes tobacco usage.) An employee violating the above policy is subject to
discipline, up to and including termination.
2. All employees
are subject to pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and post accident
drug testing. Pre-employment drug
testing all new employees is required upon request. Random testing requires that all employees
will submit to a drug test. The random
process will be determined through a computer generated program. With a signed written statement submitted to
the Superintendent, Reasonable suspicion testing can be requested. Reasonable suspicion testing is required when
an employee is involved in an accident.
Refusal to perform a requested drug test, for any reason, subjects the
employee to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. This matter will be referred to the school
board for the next regularly scheduled
board meeting or within 15 working days whichever is sooner. Failure to appear
and take the assigned test is considered another form of refusal, as is
appearing at the assigned place and time but leaving before the test is
administered. If there are extenuating
circumstances for missing the scheduled drug test then the Superintendent may
allow for the re-scheduling without administering discipline.
Any
employee who fails the drug-use-screening test conducted under any of the
situations above shall have the following process to follow if he/she does not
want to accept removal from employment.
A. To dispute
the randomness of the selection; file a grievance with the personnel manager
within 5 working days. The personnel
manager will set up a grievance committee within 5 working days to hear a
presentation of the employee’s claims and compare it with the procedure and
policy to decide if the employee might have been selected in a prejudicial
manner.
B. To dispute
the accuracy of the test or the propriety of the sample-handling procedure;
since this amounts to a claim against the testing agency, a dispute must be
filed within 15 days in order for the employee to be re-tested.
3. Any
employee convicted of violating any criminal drug statute must inform the
Superintendent of such conviction, (including pleas of guilt and no contest)
within five days of the conviction occurring.
Failure to inform the school subjects the employee to disciplinary
action, up to and including termination.
By law, the Board will notify the federal grants officer within 10 days
of receiving notice of conviction.
4. The School
Board will not cause to employ any person whom has a drug related conviction
within the last year.
ALCOHOL
USE
Because school employees
are involved with children and young adults, they are held to a higher standard
concerning alcohol and drug use.
The Board does not intend
to intrude into the private lives of its employees, but does request employees
to exercise reasonable judgment regarding the use of alcohol while not at work
and encourages employees to refrain from abuse of alcohol while an employee
with Enemy Swim Day School. The Board
requires employees to conduct their work free from the influence of alcohol.
Three-Step Prevention Program:
Steps one: To
all employees.
Step two: To
employees who request or are recommended by their supervisor.
Step three: To those employees with severe
alcohol problems.
Step one will be an annual program to inform all employees of
the effects of alcohol.
Step two is a referral for a brief intervention when an
employee experiences mild to moderate alcohol problems. The intervention will help the employee
identify when and why they exceed responsible personal limits, identify what
are the consequences of this excess, increase knowledge about responsible
drinking guidelines and strategies to remain within them, and will range from ½
hour to 12 hours dependent on severity.
Step three is a referral for employees with severe alcohol
problems. It requires an alcohol
assessment, treatment if recommended by the assessment and rehabilitation after
treatment. If an employee is convicted
of any alcohol related violations the employee will be subject to disciplinary action
up to and including termination.
STAFF-STUDENT RELATIONS
Employees of the
a. Having romantic or intimate relationship with
students.
b.
Contributing to the delinquency of a student.
c. Violations
of any Child Protection laws and ordinances.
d. Providing overnight or other lodging of
students without parental or legal guardian permission or knowledge (parental
permission also required if a school-sponsored activity).
e. Providing, distributing or consuming of
alcohol/drug substances with students.
f. Other unethical
conduct of the employee regarding this item as prescribed by community norms.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT GAG
Sexual harassment is illegal, unacceptable
and shall not be tolerated. No employee or student of the school may sexually
harass another. Any employee or student
will be subject to disciplinary action including possible termination for
violation of this policy.
Definition- Any unwelcome sexual advance,
solicitation of sexual activity by promise of rewards, coercion or threat of
punishment, verbal sexist remarks, or physical sexual assaults constitutes
sexual harassment. This conduct has the
effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic or work
performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive employment or
education environment regardless of intent.
Copies of this policy will be available at
all administrative offices.
Complaints- Any employee who believes that he
or she has been a subject of sexual harassment by a school employee,
administrative person, school board member should report this incident
immediately to the immediate supervisor.
If the immediate supervisor is involved in the activity, the violation
should be reported to the supervisor’s immediate supervisor. Students should report such incidents to the
guidance counselor and/or the appropriate administrator. All reported incidents will be thoroughly
investigated and subject to disciplinary action. Confidentiality consistent with due process
will be maintained. A complaint form must be completed.
Prohibition against retaliation Policy is applicable.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST GAGA
No school employee shall
engage in any outside activities or employment, which interfere with their
ability to carry out their regularly assigned duties.
Employees are not permitted
to have financial interests which conflict substantially with their official
duties, or to engage in a financial transaction as a result of information obtained
through their employment with the school.
CONFLICT OF
INTEREST (NEPOTISM) GAGB
To prevent situations in
which conflict of interest regarding nepotism may arise; the following
guidelines shall apply to the selection of personnel by the Board for advertised
position vacancies, as well as the assignment of personnel, and supervision of
employees at the School:
1. PERSONNEL SELECTION:
School Board members
shall excuse themselves from personnel interviewing, selection, or disciplinary
action in the event the individual being interviewed, being considered for
employment, or if an employee is initiating grievance procedures, or being
considered for disciplinary action is an immediate relative of a Board
member. By this definition an immediate
relative is defined as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband,
wife, and hunka relatives in that role.
Minutes of the Board shall reflect that the related Board member excused
themselves from the meeting in which these items are being considered.
2. PERSONNEL SUPERVISION:
The Board shall not
assign the direct supervision of any employee to a relative as defined in (1)
of this policy.
STAFF-COMMUNITY
RELATIONS GAH
Staff
members are considered to be a part of the community, in which they work and
are encouraged to actively involve themselves in community activities. Staff
shall refrain from community involvement activities which create a conflict
with policies of the school or which may result in a conflict of interest or
reduction in employee performance.
STAFF POLITICAL
ACTIVITIES GAHB
Staff can be involved in
political activities as long as it does not hinder their job performance or
conflict with school policies.
SOLICITATIONS OF/BY
STAFF MEMBERS
Employees will not sell,
solicit for sale, advertise for sale merchandise or services or organize
students for such purposes without the approval of the Superintendent. No organization may solicit funds from
employees or may distribute flyers related to fund drives through the schools
without the approval of the Superintendent.
In recognition and support of local custom, those gifts given as part of
community activities or in exercise of Dakota customs, (e.g., funeral
giveaways) are allowed.
PERSONNEL RECORDS GAK
A personnel file shall be
maintained for each employee of the School, with access limited to the Superintendent
or a designee, the individual employee, and the Business Manager. The Business Manager shall be responsible for
personnel file maintenance. It is the
responsibility of the employee to submit their appropriate documents to the
personnel manager. Contents of the
personnel file may include but are not limited to:
1.
Application for employment or letter of application
2.
Training for employment or letter of application
3.
Transcripts, resume credentials
4.
Health examination certificate
5.
Orientation Certificate
6.
Employment Contract
7.
Evaluations
8.
Personnel Actions
All personnel records shall
be considered confidential as per the Privacy Act. They shall not be open for inspection by
unauthorized personnel. Ordinary
employee information available to the public shall be limited to the name of
employee, the assignment, and the dates of employment.
SALARY DEDUCTIONS GAL
The school can make salary
deductions for required federal or other taxes, employee share of fringe
benefits, School debits (lunch ticket, computer, phone, copies, fax, other),
Sisseton-Wahpeton Federal Credit Union, and other Tribal Entities, deductions
required as garnishment due to legal judgment, or other deductions at the
discretion of the Business Manager.
STAFF RIGHTS
Staff rights and
responsibilities shall be determined through those policies and procedures
approved by the School Board.
All staff members have a responsibility to make
themselves familiar with, and abide by, the laws of the tribe and state as
applicable, as these affect their work, the policies of the Board, and the
regulations designed to implement them.
All staff members shall be expected to carry out their assigned
responsibilities with conscientious concern.
The first responsibility of the instructional staff is
the education of the student.
Also essential to the
success of ongoing school operations and the instructional program are the
following specific responsibilities, which shall be required of all personnel:
1. Faithfulness and promptness in attendance at
work. 2.
Support and enforcement of policies in regard to students.
3. Diligence in submitting required reports promptly at the times
specified.
4. Care and protection of
school property.
5.
Concern and attention toward their own and the Board's responsibility for the
safety and welfare of the students, including the need to ensure that students
are under supervision at all times.
COMPENSATION GUIDES
Salary and Wage Rates: Employee
salary shall be based upon rates approved by the School Board, within budget
limitations.
Contracts: The Superintendent
shall be responsible for the issuance of contracts based on approval of the
School Board, and within a format approved by the School Board. The School Board shall determine
annually: Employee renewal and
non-renewal timelines, wage rates and salaries, contract and wage agreement,
special provision (contingent upon funding; probationary period; other
appropriated items) for employees, types of and conditions regarding employee
leave, timelines for the acceptance or non-acceptance of contracts and wage,
fringe benefits for employees, position description updates and revisions, employee
contract duration and other considerations regarding conditions of employment
evaluation, etc.
The Superintendent shall be
responsible for consulting with the School Board and employees regarding
conditions of employment. All employees
shall sign a contract, which specifies the dates of school days in session,
within a school or work term approved by the Board, and shall be responsible
for completing the conditions of the contract.
Failure of an employee to accept and return a contract or wage agreement
issued by the School Board in the time specified will result in the offer of
employment of the Board being revoked.
A 1-3 years of experience
will be taken into account, if the experience is of similar nature.
The School Board shall
approve salary pay period schedule, which is consistent with the overall budget
and funding timelines. No salary
advances are allowed. No overtime will
be paid without prior approval from the Superintendent. There will be no early
payroll checks given.
Teachers’ Contract
Voluntary Termination: Refer to GBO
TimeKeeping: An exempt
employee is an employee whose primary duty is of the educational profession,
supervisory or administration whom is exempt from minimum wage and overtime
provisions. Exempt employees will be classified as such according to their
level of education and area of responsibility.
An hourly employee is an
employee that is guaranteed “time and a half for overtime”. Overtime is not
permitted unless the overtime is prior approved by the Superintendent. An hourly employee will be required to punch
in and out. Employees failing to punch
in, although present, will be given opportunity to have the Superintendent
validate their time. It is required for
employees to clock out when they leave the workplace. Time will be computed on the quarter of the
hour basis. Salaries will be computed on
actual time recorded on the time card/sheet during employees’ designated work
schedule.
Direct Deposit: All
contractual employees will be paid by direct deposit.
Distribution of Payroll: Checks &/or direct deposit slips can be picked
up from the Business Office on payday.
PERSONNEL
POSITIONS GBB
The Superintendent shall be
responsible for the development of position descriptions for all employees of
the School, for review by the Board. The
Board shall approve all positions and position descriptions for every position
at the School. Job descriptions will be
provided to each employee.
Any persons whom that have
regular contact with children are required to complete a background check. The school will only employee those
individuals that meet the standard of character according to P.L. 101-630: Indian Child Protection and Family Violence
Prevention Act and P.L. 101-647: Crime
Control Act.
Any persons whom regularly work
with students shall be approved by the School Board. Job descriptions for personnel shall include
information on the position title, basic responsibilities, immediate
supervisor, and qualifications for the position.
All positions shall be
advertised including a provision for Indian Preference; the School Board may
consider Veteran, Elder or other preference in addition to the Indian
Preference provision.
QUALIFICATIONS GBBA
1. The School
Board shall employ no person in any capacity whom has not completed a GED or
formal high school education program. The TANF afterschool program can be
employed if they are working towards a GED or a high school
education-conditions will be set forth in Afterschool Contract.
2. Any
employee required to be certified (teacher, administrator, counselor,
coordinator, Superintendent, other) shall be required to submit a copy of their
appropriate certificate to the Superintendent for the placement into the
employee's personnel file. The Superintendent
may suspend salary payment of any employee who is required to have a
certificate on file and does not have one on file. Failure of certified employees to submit a
certificate is cause for termination of employment.
3. The School
Board may request provisional certification for an employee required to be
certified for their role when, in their best judgment, the employee possesses
the skills, competencies, and experiences.
However, this request shall be made only when the Board is unable to
acquire a fully qualified employee for the position following advertisement of
the position vacancy for two weeks. The
Board shall not be responsible for request for re-issuance of a provisional
certificate for the subsequent term, nor shall the Board provide payment to the
employee for program completion required meeting additional provisional
certification requirements.
4. The School
Board may require on-going educational participation by an employee as a
condition of employment in the event that participation will eventually result
in the employee meeting educational degree requirements for their position, or
in increasing their competency in their current or anticipated position.
PERSONNEL
RECRUITMENT
1. ADVERTISEMENT: All position vacancies at ESDS, with exception
to those position vacancies which can be filled through employee promotion or
transfer policies, will be advertised locally and regionally. Position vacancies must be approved by the
Board. The Board may re-advertise
position vacancy until the position is filled.
2. REINSTATEMENT: The School Board may reinstate employment of
a prior term employee, to a similar position vacancy that occurs, if the
employee was, during the previous year, laid-off from their employment due to
funding limitations and if the employee was at the time of lay-off in good
standing. An employee terminated may not
apply until one (1) year after termination.
3. INTERVIEW: No permanent employee of ESDS will be
employed without completion of personal interview with the School Board, the
interview requirement includes new applicants, those for whom promotion or
transfer is being considered, and employees for whom reinstatement is being
considered by the School Board. The
applicants will be ranked first and second for the filling of the position
vacancy.
4. EMPLOYMENT
PREFERENCE: The Board may consider
Indian preference and Veteran’s preference in employment when considering employee
selection at the school. Preference may
be considered and granted if applicants are considered of equal educational,
experience, or skill background.
5. NOTIFICATION
OF APPLICANT STATUS: The administrative
is responsible for notifying applicants of the status of their application. The Administrative staff will notify
applicants of their non-selection for a position within two weeks following the
selection of an applicant by the Board and the acceptance of a contract by the
selected applicant.
6. NON-DISCRIMINATION: All applicants will be considered on the
basis of the needs of the school, and the merits and qualifications of the
applicants. There shall be no discrimination
with regard to applicant age, race, national origin, color, creed, disability,
status with regard to public assistance, marital status, sex, religion or
present or former employment by the School.
7. APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS: New applicants for
positions are required to submit the following information prior to
consideration for employment. Failure to
provide a complete application may result in the Board not considering the
applicant for employment:
a.
b. Resume (if
needed)
c. Official
transcript of college course work and certifications (if needed)
d. Three letters
of references (if needed)
e. The school
maintains applicant files for one year. Once an applicant has been selected and
contracted for employment their applications remain in their personnel file.
f. A background check is required.
g.
Certification of Degree of Indian Blood if applicable
8. EMPLOYEE RECOMMENDATION FOLLOW-UP: The Superintendent will request additional information as needed. The information acquired will remain confidential, and may only be present to and discussed by the Board. Those individuals submitting employment recommendations for applicants may also be contacted regarding the applicant’s potential performance capabilities and other appropriate information.