Please refer to the following guidance when requesting or providing reference information on an officer of administration employed by the university:

UO Hiring Authorities (request for documents and reference information):

OA personnel files and reference information about employee performance are shared with UO hiring authorities on a need-to-know basis. Documents and information related to performance can be appropriately shared with a hiring authority who is considering hiring a current university employee. Because OA personnel files are housed at the unit level, a hiring authority can request the file in writing directly with the unit. Consistent with best practice, before providing a file for review, the appropriate unit employee should review the file for information that would not be appropriate for a hiring authority to access. Such information should be removed prior to review and may include:

• Information about an employee other than the one being considered for hire
• Information that may have been misfiled
• Information that is beyond its retention schedule

External Hiring Authorities (reference checks):

The information above does not apply to external hiring authorities. When responding to reference requests from external, non-UO hiring authorities, it is useful to review the guidance from the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). It is also important to remember that current and previous employees may have some privacy rights related to documents evaluating their performance. For that reason, before disclosing documents or information derived from documents with third parties, and to ensure University policy is followed, please reach out to ELR at the email provided below.

Any related questions should be directed to university HR’s Employee and Labor Relations team at uoelr@uoregon.edu.