IS - 2032 Official Personnel Files	Human Resources Release Date: 11/30/00 Revision 1: 7/30/04 Revision 2: 12/2/04
Policy

CNM Board Policy

Employee Handbook 10.01, Official Personnel File

Administrative Directive

Introduction

In collecting, maintaining, and disclosing personnel information, Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) makes every effort to protect employees' privacy rights and interests and prevent inappropriate or unnecessary disclosures of information from any employee's file. 

While complying with its governmental reporting and record keeping requirements, the College strives to ensure that it handles all personal and job-related information about employees in a secure, confidential and appropriate fashion in accordance with the principles and procedures outlined in this document.

Personnel files may also be covered by language in a Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Where such language exists, the language of the Collective Bargaining Agreement governs.

1. Confidentiality of Information

1.1 The College treats personal information about employees as confidential and respects the need for protecting each employee's privacy by enforcing secure information handling procedures on the part of all personnel whose job duties involve gathering, retaining, using, or releasing personal information about the College's employees.

1.2 The College collects and retains only such personal information as it needs to effectively conduct business and administer its employment and benefit programs.

1.3 The College takes all possible steps to ensure that all personal and job-related information about employees is accurate, complete, and relevant for its intended purpose. Wherever possible, the College notifies affected employees if it needs additional personal information and gives these employees an opportunity to supply the requested data.

1.4 All references and information originating outside the College on the basis of confidentiality and information obtained within the College in the process of evaluating candidates for employment shall be privileged and are not part of either of the employee's official personnel files.

2. Security and Storage of Personnel Files and Insurance/Medical Files

2.1 Personnel Files - Public and Exempt

2.1.1 All paper-based documents relating to the College's personnel record system are kept in secure, locked files in the Human Resources Department. These files are the official personnel file for employees.

2.1.2 The personnel files are accessible only to authorized Human Resources Department staff, administrators, managers, and supervisors who have a valid, demonstrable need to obtain specific information from an employee's personnel record.

2.1.3 Employees are granted access to their personnel files and records in accordance with Section 5 of this policy.

2.1.4 All personnel files and records must remain in the Human Resources Department at all times.

2.1.5 If an individual with an authorized need to know requires copies of the information in an employee's personnel file, the Human Resources Department makes these copies available upon written request.

2.2 Insurance/Medical Files

2.2.1 All insurance and medical information relating to an employee is kept in secure, locked files in the Human Resources Department and is kept separate from the personnel files.

2.2.2 Access to these files is tightly controlled.  Medical information about an employee is supplied only to the worker's designated physician in accordance with the worker's written specific request.

3.  Disclosure or Release of Employee Information to Government Agencies

3.1 On occasion, the College must provide information and data from its personnel files to federal, state, and local government agencies in accordance with record keeping and reporting requirements imposed by such agencies.

4.  Disclosure or Release of Employee Information to Non-governmental Entities

4.1 In response to an information request from an outside organization, individual, or other non-governmental entity, the College normally verifies only the employment status, dates of employment, and most recent salary information for former or present employees.

4.2 The College does not provide any other information unless and until it has received from the employee or former employee a written request that it disclose or confirm additional specific information.

4.3 The College ordinarily honors subpoenas demanding production of information with respect to any employee, but usually advises an employee of the subpoena and nature of the information requested, unless otherwise prohibited by law (see Inspection of Public Records Act).

4.4 Access to the files is granted upon request to the internal auditors and to the external auditors in accordance with Governing Board policy and state law.

5.  Employees' Access Rights to Personnel File Information

5.1 All information or material placed in the employee's official public or exempt personnel files shall be available to the employee upon request for inspection.  To prevent abuses of this access privilege, the College reserves the right to limit the number of times an employee can access his or her file during a 12-month period.

5.2 Employees who are interested in reviewing the contents of their personnel file should contact the Human Resources Department and provide reasonable advance notice of their desire to schedule a mutually convenient time for an appointment. 

5.3 Access to the file is normally granted within two work days after the request.

5.4 A designated representative of the Human Resources Department is present during the file review to ensure all documents remain in the file.

5.5 The College will honor reasonable requests for a document copy from the file for the employee.  The employee may be required to assume a reasonable cost for the copies.

6.  Accuracy of Employee Information

6.1  To ensure that the College's personnel files are up-to-date and contain accurate, complete information, employees are asked to notify the Human Resources Department of any changes that need to be made in the following categories:

• name

• telephone number

• home address

• marital status

• number of dependents

• beneficiary designations

• scholastic achievements, or

• individual to notify in case of an emergency

6.2 No anonymous, unsigned or hearsay information may be placed in either of the employee's official personnel files.

6.3 Any information or materials which are derogatory to an employee's conduct, service, character or personality shall not be placed in either of the employee's official personnel files unless the employee has been given the opportunity to examine the information or material.

6.4 The employee has the right to respond in writing to anything placed in either of the official personnel files and have such response placed with the material to which the response relates.  The response must be made within 30 days of notification to the employee that such material has been placed in either of the official personnel files.

7.  Correction of Personnel File Information

7.1 Employees can request correction of information in their personnel files as appropriate by submitting a written request to the Human Resources Director.

7.2 Within 30 calendar days of receipt of a written request to amend a record, the Human Resources Director notifies the employee in writing that the amendment will be made as requested, that the amendment request has been denied, or that additional time is needed to respond to the request.

7.3 In cases where a requested amendment is denied, the Human Resources Director will explain the reasons for refusing to make the change.  A copy of the response will be placed in the individual's personnel file if the request is denied.

7.4 If the Human Resources Director refuses to amend the record, the individual has the right to enter into the personnel file a statement setting forth the reasons for the individual's disagreement.

8. Retention of Personnel Files

8.1 Personnel files are maintained in the Human Resources Department as long as the employee has an active status with the College.

8.2 Once the employee terminates employment with the College, the Human Resources personnel and departmental personnel files are sent to Records Retention for storage and retention in accordance with the State of New Mexico General Retention and Disposition Schedule.

9. Definitions  

Forms:	Employee Change of Address Form NM Educational Retirement Board NMPSIA Employee Record Change Card
Support Materials:	Not Applicable
Reference Materials:	Employee Handbook 10.01, Official Personnel File Inspection of Public Records Act State of New Mexico General Retention and Disposition Schedule Collective Bargaining Agreements