Southeastern Louisiana University's employment of faculty and staff is subject to a hierarchy of external laws and regulations. Southeastern is subject to all applicable federal laws and regulations pertaining to employment in higher education, including requirements of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the United States Department of Education. As a unit of state government, the University is subject to all applicable laws and regulations regarding employment with the State of Louisiana. As a member institution of the University of Louisiana System, employment policies for Southeastern must also be consistent with Part Two, Chapter III of the University of Louisiana System Board Rules. Southeastern publishes all policies regarding the appointment and employment of faculty and staff and makes these available through a variety of standard and electronic communications.

The Human Resources Office also publishes and distributes a quarterly newsletter, Human Resource Highlights, in electronic format to all University employees. The newsletter communicates important information regarding employee policies, procedures, and benefits.

As specified in Part III, Section G of Southeastern's employee handbooks , the Human Resource Office conducts training sessions for all new faculty, unclassified staff, and classified staff twice annually. Held at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters, these orientation sessions welcome new employees to the University community and inform them of all relevant policies and procedures regarding employment at Southeastern.

Additionally, Southeastern publishes statements of its commitment to positive employment practices in employee handbooks, available on Southeastern's web site. These policies include:

• special (temporary) appointments;
• instructor appointments;
• tenure-track appointments; and
• tenure appointments.

Selection and appointment of all faculty is subject to the procedures outlined in Part III, Section A of Southeastern's Faculty Handbook:

When there is a vacancy in a department or an addition to be made, the department head, in consultation with appropriate departmental faculty, makes recommendation to the dean of the college and to the Provost, who transmits the recommendations to the President of the University. The President makes recommendation of appointment to the University of Louisiana System. No appointment is valid until the System has given its formal approval of the person, the rank, the salary, and the period of employment.

Regardless of the type of faculty appointment, the department head and search committee are charged with ensuring that the finalists for the position fully meet SACS criteria for the specific faculty appointment in question. In Section II, E. 1 of the University's Employment Procedures for Hiring Faculty, verifying the applicant's educational qualifications is described as an integral part of the background checking process on all finalists for faculty positions:

…in faculty searches the Search Committee working with the Department Head should determine that the finalist candidates meet all SACS criteria for faculty qualifications. The SACS criteria are listed on the Human Resources web site at:
http://www2.selu.edu/Administration/Depts/HumanResources/sacscriteria.htm

If there are any questions regarding whether a candidate meets SACS criteria, the Department Head should consult with Dr. Bea Baldwin, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and the University's SACS liaison officer.

The University's complete approach to ensuring that SACS' guidelines for the employment of faculty members is more fully discussed in Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1.

Unclassified Staff
As Part III, Section A the Unclassified Employee Handbook indicates, unclassified staff appointments are analyzed to determine proper job title, minimum qualifications, and the appropriate salary based on the duties of the position. Available on the Human Resources web site, Employment Procedures for Unclassified Staff outlines the advertising and hiring procedures for filling unclassified staff positions. The budget unit head, in conjunction with the search committee (if a search committee is used) is responsible for carefully screening applicants, completing background checks, and verifying educational and professional qualifications before beginning interviews. The search committee recommends the best candidate to the budget unit head, and the budget unit head submits the recommendation to the appropriate Vice President for approval. Final approval rests with the University of Louisiana System Board.

Classified Staff
All classified staff positions fall under the state's civil service rules. Many of these positions are also governed by the University's contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, Local No. 489, which governs salaries, wages, hours, and other conditions of employment, congruent with civil service regulations.