Release of Information

Purpose

This instruction is intended to outline procedures governing requests for employee references and recommendations.

1. It is imperative that information on District employees not be released to any person, business, or agency which does not have a legitimate reason to have such information. The release of unauthorized information about employees is an invasion of privacy and could result in legal action against the District and the employee providing the unauthorized information.

Procedure

Direct Inquiries to Human Resources: Requests for information on a previous or current District employee should be referred to Human Resources.

Verifications: Information on employees will be provided by Human Resources on a "need to know" basis. Any uncertainty by Human Resources Office staff regarding the validity of the request should be referred to the supervisor.

1. When a phone inquiry is received from a Non-Public Agency
   (such as a bank, department store, mortgage company, etc.), the information below should be verified.
   1. Confirm whether the person is an employee of the District.
   2. Give the hire date if requested.
   3. Confirm the salary rate if requested and the caller quotes a figure which is reasonably close. Hourly rates of pay may be quoted, but not the number of hours worked.
2. When a phone inquiry for information is received from a Public Agency
   (such as an office of law enforcement, welfare department, another school district, etc.), the following information may be provided.
   1. Verify type of employment such as classified monthly or academic hourly.
   2. Verify, but do not quote salary. An hourly rate may be given, but not number of hours worked.
   3. If other information is requested, obtain name and number of caller and refer the message to the supervisor.
3. When telephone requests for information are received from District Employees
   the following guidelines apply:
   1. The individual calling must be readily identified and have a business necessity for the information; i.e., planning for special projects, budget development, negotiations, etc.
   2. Salary, wages earned, length of service, type of employment, and other general information requested may be verified.
   3. If "need to know" information cannot be established, if the information needed is questionable, or if the caller cannot be identified, refer the request to the supervisor.
4. When a telephone request is received form a Private Citizen or Concerned Taxpayer 
   the individual should be told it is our policy to disclose only whether or not a person is a District employee. Those pressing for further information should be referred to the Payroll and Benefits Manager. 
5. Calls from Employee Organizations
   should be treated as follows:
   1. Refer requests for salary costs incurred by employee groups to the Classification and Compensation Division in Human Resources.
   2. Refer requests for employee unit lists to Payroll and Benefits Manager.
6. Callers asking for an Employee's work phone number
   should be told that we cannot give out such information. We can assist, however, by offering to take down the caller's name and phone number and passing it on to the employee. Once this message has been given to the employee, further calls by the inquirer should not be allowed to become a problem. Persistent callers should be referred to the supervisor. 
7. Under no circumstances should the following information be provided by Human Resources staff member:
   an employee's home address, home telephone number, date of birth, marital status, W-4 information, or information on voluntary payroll deductions.

Reference Requests: This guideline applies to all written and oral requests for references received by managers/supervisors from an employee, a former employee, or from potential employers. All requests for employee references should be referred to Human Resources for reply. Information relayed by Human Resources will be limited to confirming employment and salary data. All oral requests must be put in writing and submitted with a return envelope enclosed.

Summary

All telephone requests for release of information regarding employees received by District office staff members should be referred to Human Resources for response. Inquiries are handled in Payroll and callers should be referred as follows:

 

Location	Payroll Staff Number
City; 7015-7191	(619) 388-6583
Mesa; 2030-2958	(619) 388-6585
Miramar; 7200-7650	(619) 388-6584
Centers for Education & Technology	(619) 388-6845
Military	(619) 388-6506