Are your employee records kept in one place, including medical records and I-9 forms? Do you know what documents should go into the personnel files and what should not? Do you securely separate confidential records of employees or just dump them along with the general personnel file?
Do you throw away files that have been stored in your cabinet for the last 10 years? You may be violating the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Attorney Vincent J. Seman of Carlsmith Ball Law Firm on Saipan defined personnel files as any document, record, item or information an office maintains on an employee.
Under the law, there are certain employee records that should be kept and these include basic data, payroll data, benefit information and other employment records.
Seman, who was one of the speakers during a gathering of business owners and employers hosted by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce at the Pacific Islands Club last week, identified certain documents that should go into a personnel file:
• Employee’s offer letter
• Employee’s job application and or résumé
• IRS Form W-4
• Employee’s signed acknowledgement of employee’s handbook and any signatures acknowledging updates
• Payroll data
• Training or apprenticeship
• Change in status
• Separation
• Labor organization membership
• Occupational injuries and illnesses
Seman said that documents that should be OUT of personnel files or considered confidential include the following:
• Medical, psychiatric, psychological records.
Medical records are anything related to medical condition, worker’s compensation or a condition requiring leave.
These include medical history questionnaires, medical evaluations and related documents, notes from doctors, requests for Family and Medical Leave Act and related documents, requests for Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations and related documents, worker’s compensation history, claims and related documents, results of drug/alcohol tests and related documents, and any documents about past or present health, medical condition or disabilities.
• Litigation records. These documents should be kept in a separate confidential file with limited access.
• Complaints and investigation of harassment, discrimination. This includes investigative notes and supporting documents and should be kept in a file with limited access.
• INS Form I-9. This should be kept together in a single file rather than placed in each individual’s employee file. Seman said the government is entitled to inspect these forms so separation of these files can help keep the privacy of each employee’s files.
Miscellaneous files that should be kept out of the personnel files include the following:
• Job announcements and hiring records for each job vacancy
• Employee handbook and updates
• Company policies not in the handbook
• Memos to employees
• Policy and procedures for layoff plans, implementation
• Wage scales
• Employee benefit information, plan summaries
Seman said proper documentation and document retention practices come in handy under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 which considers electronic storage of files and data.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed by President Obama on Jan. 29, 2009. It extends the time period in which employees can pursue disparate pay claims under anti-discrimination laws. The Act gives each employee 180 days from issuance of each paycheck tainted by alleged discrimination to file a lawsuit.
