Template - Email to SMEs for recusal

Now that you’ve received the list of applicants you’ll be interviewing, reply by {DATE} with any applicant who you have a personal relationship with and should not interview. You may interview people you know, supervise, and work with (contract professionals or feds), but must recuse yourself in these cases:

• Personal relationship outside of work that’s known or unknown to others: It’s acceptable to attend office gatherings after work with people you interview, but you must recuse if you regularly spend social time with the applicant.
• Appearance of bias: For example, everyone in the office knows that you regularly spar with the applicant, or everyone knows you have a special bond with the applicant.

All applicants must pass this examination based on their responses to the questions, compared against the set proficiency levels. If you interview someone you know in these qualifications interviews, you must only consider their interview responses when qualifying them. You may make some assumptions about the applicant’s qualifications based on the answers given, but you may not use your experience with the applicant outside of the interviews.

Thank you,

{AGENCY} Schedulers