Guidelines for Staff Official Personnel Files
- The Official Staff Personnel File
- Maintenance of Official Personnel File
- Medical File
- Supervisor's Working File (Optional)
- Access to Files
- Transfer of Files
- Records Retention
- Contents of the official personnel file
- What should NOT be in the official personnel file?
- Contents of the medical file
- Additional resources
A. The Official Staff Personnel File
An official staff personnel file is the University of California, Berkeley's record of communication and documents related to the job and employment status of a staff employee. The file serves as the historical record of information pertaining to a staff employee from the date of hire to separation and contains some pre-employment and post-employment information.
B. Maintenance of Official Personnel File
The official personnel file for a staff employee is maintained by the employee’s department or by the primary department in the case of multiple appointments. The department manager, or the department human resources manager, is responsible for maintaining the personnel files. All staff personnel records should be maintained in a secured and confidential location. Files containing confidential information are to be kept in locked cabinets or drawers with limited access, or similarly secured in automated form if the campus changes to that format in the future.
Departments are expected to maintain reasonable safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of personnel documents. Access to staff personnel files should be restricted to those with designated authority to review the files such as a supervisor, a department manager, or a human resources manager. Employees with access to these files should be familiar with the campus policies regarding the handling of confidential information which can be found at http://datasteward.berkeley.edu/DMUP.htm.
It is recommended that department managers review personnel files at least annually. Before purging documents from employee files, please review the retention and disposition guidelines outlined in the University Records Retention and Disposition Manual. Unnecessary duplicates should be discarded. Documents that are purged from employee files should be shredded.
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), federal law requires employers to protect medical records as confidential information that is kept separate and apart from other business records. Medical information may not be retained in a personnel file. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also imposes very strict rules for handling information obtained through post-offer medical examinations and inquiries. Compliance with the ADA requires that information related to medical disabilities be handled in a confidential manner. Provisions in California law, such as the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, the Information Practices Act, the California Constitutional Right to Privacy, and the California Evidence Code provisions recognizing physician and psychotherapy records as privileged, also require confidential treatment of medical information and records.
As an employer covered under the federal law and California state law described above, UC Berkeley must keep the medical records of its employees (i.e., any information related to an employee's medical condition or the medical condition of his or her family members) confidential and separate from other personnel records. This information may be revealed only in very limited circumstances, such as to safety and first aid workers if necessary to treat an employee; to public safety officials to protect the employee or others from a serious and imminent threat to health or safety; to mandated reporters to law enforcement to report child, elder or dependent abuse; to the employee's supervisor, if appropriate under applicable law and the employee's disability requires restricted duties or a reasonable accommodation; and to University officials as required by law for the purposes of defending the University in judicial or administrative proceedings; or for purposes of compliance with worker's compensation programs.
There are various civil and criminal penalties which may apply for disclosure of information or for failures to make required reports, such as reports of child abuse. The potentially serious penalties attached to such conflicting obligations of confidentiality and reporting mean that care must be taken in handling of medical records or information. Any questions about confidentiality or disclosure of medical records or medical information should be referred to campus counsel. This should be done at the earliest possible moment if there is a situation involving imminent and serious threat to a person's health or safety.
While physically separate from the official personnel file, the medical file may be stored in the same locked cabinet as an employee's official personnel file. The medical file may even be placed next to the official personnel file as long as there is a clear division between them and they can be accessed independently of each other.
D. Supervisor's Working File (Optional)
A supervisor may keep a working file on an individual employee to track work in progress, conduct, and performance related information. A supervisor’s working file typically contains documents of ongoing work such as notes of conversations, assignments, status reports and milestones to support annual performance evaluations.
The supervisor's working file is a confidential file that is typically kept in a secure area near the employee's immediate supervisor. It should be stored in a locked area when not in use. The contents of a working file should be discarded once the information is no longer necessary.
A supervisor's working file is not considered part of the official personnel file. Any personnel action can only be based on what is in the personnel file. If any information in the supervisor's file is to be used as the basis for a timely personnel action, it must be placed in the employee's official personnel file. Any information upon which the supervisor intends to take formal action should be moved into the personnel file in the form of a performance evaluation, letter of warning, Notice of Intent (NOI), or other disciplinary documentation, and a copy given to the employee.
(1) Employee access
State laws give employees the right to examine their personal employment records maintained in the official personnel file, with certain exceptions. This allows employees the opportunity to confirm information in the file and identify any specific information which is believed to be incorrect. An employer may exercise reasonable control over the time and location of these examinations. Ownership of the personnel file and its contents rests with the University.
Under Section 1798.38 of the Information Practices Act, an individual may request to inspect all the personal information in his or her personnel record. An employee's request to view his or her personnel file must be made in writing to his or her supervisor. Any record containing personal information cannot be removed from the personnel file once a request to view the file has been made. Access to an employee's personnel file is limited to the employee or the employee's designated representative, the employee's supervisor or department head, a prospective hiring manager, Employee Relations or Labor Relations staff, and other UC officials with a job-related need for information. Similar to records requested for inspection, records placed on litigation hold by the University may not be removed from the personnel file either.
Policy 80 in Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) requires that access to an employee's own official personnel file be provided within 30 calendar days from the receipt of a request. For records that are geographically dispersed, inactive or in storage, PPSM 80 requires access to records within 60 calendar days. However, departments are encouraged to provide employee access as soon as reasonably possible after receiving an employee's written request to view the official personnel file.
Collective bargaining agreements have varying requirements about access to staff personnel files. Department managers are encouraged to refer to an employee's labor contract for the procedure to allow access to the files of a represented employee. The contracts are found at the following link: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/hrlabor.htm.
(2) Access to Files by Hiring Manager
Hiring managers are strongly encouraged to view the official personnel file of a University employee who is a finalist for a position in their department. Hiring managers may also request to see the personnel file of a UC employee working at a different UC location as part of their background and reference checking of finalists for their positions. The home department is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of an employee's medical file during the hiring process. Medical information is not to be shared with the hiring manager.
In the case of an employee who seeks accommodation, the hiring department should work with the employee to determine a reasonable solution to the employee's request for accommodation. The hiring department may ask the employee to provide it with information about the type of accommodation that is needed. The employee's medical file should only be sent to the hiring manager once the hiring process is completed.
When an employee moves to another Berkeley department, the official personnel file must move with the employee after the employee changes to a new department. It should be sealed in an envelope, marked confidential and hand delivered to or retrieved by the supervisor in the employee's new home department. The employee is not to be given the personnel file to deliver himself or herself. The prior department may maintain a copy of the personnel file for its own records.
All documents in the official personnel file should be transferred to the new department except as listed below. The employee's medical file should also be sent to the hiring manager after the hiring process has been completed.
Documents that should NOT be transferred to the new department include:
- Supervisor working file;
- Timesheets.
Generally, departments should maintain personnel files until five years after an individual separates from University employment except in cases of disability, retirement or disciplinary action in which case documents are retained until the individual reaches age 70. The five year guideline is interpreted to mean that documents will be destroyed five years after the end of the fiscal year in which they are produced.
Timely destruction of records will provide departments with space for new documents. Please consult the University's Records Management Disposition Schedule to determine specific retention requirements for records kept in personnel files. The schedule is accessible as record number http://ucop.edu/recordsretention/search01.php.
H. Contents of the official personnel file
Information that should be maintained in the official personnel file includes, but is not limited to:
Employment
- Application
- Resume
- Prescreening application notes
- Employment interview report form
- Education verification
- Employment verification
- Other background verification
- Emergency Contact Form
- Request for non-medical leave of absence and approval/denial of leave
- Employment offer letter
- Checklist from new employee orientation showing subjects covered
- Security clearance status
- Staff oath of allegiance
- Welcome letter
- Grievances and complaints [1]
Payroll
- Monthly time sheets
- Individual attendance record
- Authorization for release of private information
- Authorization for all other payroll actions
Performance Management
- New employee progress reports
- Performance appraisal forms
- Performance improvement program records
- Report of coaching/counseling session
- Corrective action letters
- Employee written warning notice
Training and Development
- Training history records
- Training program applications/requests
- Training evaluation forms
- Certifications or commendations
- In-house training notification letters
- Nominations for departmental or campus awards
- Training expense reimbursement records
- Safety training/meeting attendance/summary forms
Wage/Salary Administration
- Job card performance and standards
- Physical, Environmental and Mental Demands Form
- Service verification request
- Compensation history record
- Compensation recommendations
- Notification of wage and or salary increase/decrease
- Summons for jury duty
- Any change in employment status including requests for reduction in time
Separation (Non-Medical)
- Exit interview form
- Final employee performance appraisal
- Exit interviewer's comment form
- Record of documents given at time of separation
[1] This excludes whistleblower complaints in which case complainants are anonymous. See Section I below.
I. What should NOT be in the official personnel file?
Personnel files should only include items that are related to an employee's job or employment status.
Examples of items that should not be included in the personnel file are:
- Pre-employment records (with the exception of the application and resume)
- Monthly attendance transaction documents
- Whistleblower complaints, notes generated from informal discrimination complaint investigations, Ombuds, or Campus Climate
- Records related to the resolution of the grievance, complaint, or allegation unless they are normally a required part of the official personnel file
- Medical information, including medical records or correspondence related to any medical condition of the employee or the employee's family
- Supervisor's working files
- Marginal notes on documents that reflect opinions or judgments that are not supported by fact or documentation
- Court orders such as notices of garnishment or restraining orders
- I-9 Forms: Completion of this document is federally mandated for every employee hired after November 6, 1986. The original I-9 Form must be sent within 3 business days of an employee's start date to: Human Resources-Records and Data Management, 2150 Shattuck Ave. Suite 750, Berkeley, CA 94704-3540.
If a department chooses to keep a copy of the I-9 form, it must not reside in an employee's personnel file. Any copies of I-9 forms must be maintained separate and apart from personnel files. If a government agency with authority to view I-9 forms conducts an audit of I-9 forms, the audit will occur in the Office of Record in Central Human Resources.
J. Contents of the medical file
Examples of information about employees that should be placed in a protected medical file separate from the personnel file include but are not limited to:
- any document that contains private medical information about the employee or the employee's family
- doctor notes
- claims for medical services
- disability documents
- forms for short term, long term or temporary leaves
- return to work documents
- FMLA documents
- ADA information regarding reasonable accommodations
- documents or correspondence related to reasonable accommodation and work restrictions
- Communications during the interactive process
- correspondence related to medical leaves and absences
- transitional work agreements
- worker's compensation records or correspondence
- injury or illness reports
- OSHA injury and illness reports
More information about federal requirements to protect the privacy of personal health information can be found at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/.
Questions about personnel files and employee records may be directed to any of the following Human Resources units as appropriate:
- The Employee Relations Consultant assigned to your department
- Employee Relations Customer Service Line at (510) 642-7163
- A Labor Relations Advocate or the Labor Relations Unit at labrel@berkeley.edu
- Subpoenas for Records: Records and Data Analysis at (510) 643-5470
Additional information can be found on-line:
- Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) at http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/hrpolicy.htm
- Collective bargaining agreements for represented employees at: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/hrlabor.htm