Personnel Files

Policy

The College shall establish, maintain, and safeguard personnel records as required by law and deemed essential for efficient operation of the College.

Except where prescribed by policy or agreement, the official personnel record resides in the Human Resources Office of the College and the Human Resources administrator, or his/her designee is considered to be the records custodian. All official documents shall reside in the official personnel record.

The personnel record shall include all documents which are official actions taken by the College or employee and regarding the employee’s employment relationship with the College, and other official documents describing the employee’s employment relationship or ability to perform the functions of his/her position. The personnel records shall not include any documents unrelated to the above, such as letters of commendation or letters of complaint, training records, awards, notes, drafts, reports or other documents unrelated to an official employment action, except where attached as evidence supporting an official personnel document.

Personnel records may contain personal, confidential or sensitive information. The College will handle and maintain all personnel records with integrity.

Access to Personnel Records by Members of Management

Supervisors may review the personnel record of an employee who reports to him/her to an extent supported by business necessity. Access to medical/health records is limited to information needed to implement appropriate reasonable accommodations and only to the extent release of such information is allowed by law.

Other persons in an executive or administrative positions, or his/her designee, or a professional or classified positions with supervisory authority, may review the personnel records of an employee who is an applicant for a position that has a reporting relationship to that executive, administrative, professional or classified employee. Access to information will be limited to that information needed for making an informed decision regarding selection for a position. Such persons shall not be granted access to medical/health records of an employee for this purpose.

Access to Personnel Records by Employees

An employee may request to review his/her personnel record during business hours and may review all documents included in the record. An employee may also request a copy of any document included in the personnel record. The College may charge a reasonable fee for copying any material beyond the first copy requested by the employee or his or her representative. For purposes of this policy, employee includes any person who is currently or formerly employed by the College.

Access to Personnel Records by Members of the Public, Other Agencies, or Students

Access to personnel records by persons other than the employee or members of the College’s management staff is limited by the public disclosure act and will be released only as allowed by law. Some exceptions may exist for other governmental agencies performing services on behalf of the College or employee; examples include the Attorney General’s Office, Department of Labor and Industries, and Department of Employment Security.

Response to a Request to Review a Personnel Record

The College’s Human Resources Office shall respond in a reasonable time, or as otherwise required by law, to all requests to review personnel records.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish the provisions by which personnel records will be maintained, what documents are included in personnel records, who may access personnel file information, and considerations for privacy. It is intended that personnel records will be safeguarded as required by state and federal law and will be maintained as is deemed essential for the efficient operation of the College.

To Whom Does This Policy Apply

This policy applies to all employees, volunteers and others acting in an employment relationship with the College. This policy does not apply to student records, except for records maintained for an employee who is also a student and as it regards the student’s employment relationship with the College.

References

RCW 40.14.010 Definition and Classification of Public Records

RCW 42.17 Disclosure, Campaign Financing, Lobbying, Records (“Public DisclosureAct”)

Executive Order 00-03 Public Records Privacy Protections

WAC 132V-24 Public Record

TCCFT Collective Bargaining Agreement

WFSE Collective Bargaining Agreement

WPEA Collective Bargaining Agreement

Definitions

Personnel Record – the official College file(s) containing document(s) that describe an action taken by the College and regarding the employment relationship of the employee, an action taken by the employee and regarding his/her application or employment relationship with the College, or other documents describing the employee’s employment relationship or ability to perform the functions of his/her position. Examples of documents which reside in a personnel record includes the application for employment, new hire paperwork, payroll record, medical statement, authorization for changes in pay, classification or FTE, authorization to change budget against which payroll expenses are charged, discipline, performance evaluation, leave slips, benefit election, and similar records.

See College Policy - Definitions

Procedure

None