How to Maintain Confidentiality of Employee Records

It is essential for a business to maintain the confidentiality of employee records. The best way to do this is by limiting access to these sensitive files. An employee file should be only accessed by a limited few for very specific reasons. The few people who should be given access might include the owner, the employee's manager or an authorized person with a court order.
A court order will be very specific as to the authorized agent and what employee documents are to be reviewed -- it is not necessarily a carte blanche to allow someone to rummage through the employee's entire file.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Employee files
• Locking file cabinet

1. Keep all employee files in locking file cabinets. The normal practice is for the business owner or human resources to hold the keys. The file cabinet should be locked when not in use.

2. Keep regular employee files apart from the employee medical files. This is especially important in the event of an audit or lawsuit. Medical files should also be kept under lock and key.

3. Supervision is required if an employee or other authorized person needs to access the employee file. The employee or other authorized person should not be left alone to review an employee file. Documents have been known to disappear. It might be helpful to have a log of any person who reviewed the employee's file. This could be kept in the employee file.

4. Be organized. A business owner or human resources should keep track of the documents in the employee file. If you need to copy a document from the file make sure you paying close attention to that task. Don't leave originals of salary surveys left in the copy machine. This is a breach of confidentiality of employee files.

5. Shred all employee data you will not store in the event of a company closure. This should occur regardless of the date or age of the employee document. An exception to this is I-9s for employees and former employees, which must be kept for one year.

Tips & Warnings

• Be wary of the dumpster divers.

References

• Lawyers.com: Whose Job Is It to Keep Employee Records Private?