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It is the policy of Binghamton University to protect the confidentiality of the official personnel files of all current and former employees to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. By doing so we will permit access to official personnel files only to those individuals and offices legally and operationally entitled to such access. This is in accordance with the NYS Personal Privacy Protection Law, the Freedom of Information Law, FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), and the collective bargaining Agreements with CSEA, UUP, C82, NYSCOPBA, GSEU, and PEF. “Official personnel files” are defined as the paper and electronic files maintained by the Human Resources Office, which contain information on employees related to their employment experience at Binghamton University. Official Personnel Files (paper):
A. Employees
2.
A union representative may accompany
the employee at the review, or the employee may designate a union representative
to review the file. In the case of a designee, the designee must present
a signed and dated release from the employee before the file is released.
3.
Upon review of the file, an
employee or designated union representative may request copies of documents
found in the file. The Human Resources Office shall make such copies
for $.25 per copy.
4.
An employee may make written
response of a reasonable length to any material found in the file by
submitting a signed and dated response to Human Resources.
5.
A former employee has access
to his/her inactive personnel file under the Freedom of Information
Law, and may make a request to amend or correct his/her file. Such a
request must be made through the University Attorney, by calling 777-4438.
B. Supervisors a. the
employee reports to the department from which the request emanates,
or
b. the
employee has made a written application to transfer or move to the department
from which the request emanates, or
c. the
employee formerly worked for Binghamton University and is reapplying
for employment with the requesting department.
3. No information or materials shall be removed from the personnel file by the reviewing department, and copies will be provided per normal operating procedures. Information received during this review is confidential and shall be used for legitimate work-related reasons only. C. Senior Management Members of senior management may access an employee’s personnel file, upon request to the Director of Human Resources, if such access and review of records is necessary in the performance of their official duties. Information received during this review is confidential and shall be used for legitimate work-related reasons only. D. Outside Inquiries 1. Faxed and or written requests for employee information i.e. mortgage applications, inquiries from prospective employers not directed to a specific reference, background checks on employees applying for grants, applications for low-income housing, etc. must be directed to the Human Resources Office. Information will be released only if the employee has signed and dated a release of information to the requesting party. 2. A few written requests do not require a signed and dated release from the employee in order for us to provide information to the requesting party. Some examples include: Request for Employment and Wage Date from the Department of Labor regarding unemployment insurance, or the Confidential Wage Report from a county income execution unit usually in relation to child support. 3. Subpoenas of employee records must be directed to and received by the Director of Human Resources or his/her designee. If the subpoena is served on an office other than the Human Resources Office, the employee accepting it should note where, when, how and from whom the subpoena was received. The employee should then deliver the subpoena and all materials received with it to the unit supervisor who, in turn, will direct it to the Human Resources Office. The subpoena will be routed to our University Attorney who deals with subpoenas locally. Upon receipt, it will be reviewed and recommendations made regarding whether we need to comply with the subpoena and what, if any, information must be released. In the University Attorney’s absence, the subpoena will be faxed to an attorney in the Office of the University Counsel and Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs in Albany. An accounting of any disclosure of employee records as a result of a subpoena will be made a part of the employee’s file. 4. Telephone requests regarding employment of individuals and official personnel files must be directed to the Human Resources Office. The only information Human Resources will release in response to an outside telephone inquiry is confirmation of an individual’s employment at Binghamton University. 5. Unless prohibited by law, an employee represented by UUP shall be notified of any request for access to the employee’s file, other that access for official University business (Article 31-UUP Agreement). Official Personnel Files (electronic-Oracle,
Human Resources Management System HRMS):
Oracle HRMS was implemented at Binghamton
University as a decentralized system. As such, by virtue of input and
work-responsibility, access to some fields of personnel data has been
incorporated into the system. HR Masters, department end users, and
University managers are entrusted to view and use relevant Human Resource
data only as is appropriate to their work-related responsibilities.
Information from this database should never be shared with any
person, company, or organization external to the University without
the review and approval of the Director of Human Resources
and the University attorney. Under no circumstances should inappropriate
sharing of confidential personnel data occur within the University community.
Data considered confidential in all situations includes but is
not limited to:
·
Social security numbers
·
Disabilities/accommodations
·
Benefit data-insurances, dependants,
partners, etc.
·
Unlisted telephone numbers
Should there be a need for an interpretation of what is deemed confidential data or an appropriate business reason to use the data, the Director of Human Resources should be the contact person. He or she will consult as necessary to provide direction and guidance. Mailing
Labels
Mailing labels, which include employee name and address, are provided to departments having a legitimate business reason for making the request, and an account against which the cost can be charged. Only persons authorized to make charges against an account can make such requests. Routine requests should be directed to Jonathon Roma in Human Resources at extension 7-3321. The Director of Human Resources must approve non-routine requests for labels. The appropriate Vice President may be consulted in such instances. Certain authorized University system end users who have attended required training have on-line access to employee data through the self-service web applications of the Oracle Human Resource Management System. Such information is confidential and shall be used for legitimate work-related reasons only. Personnel data has been entrusted to the University for safekeeping and needs to be dealt with respectfully. Any questions about the appropriate or inappropriate use of personnel information contained in the Oracle Human Resource Management System database should be referred to the Director of Human Resources. All other requests for access to
employee records must be made under the Freedom of Information Law through
the University attorney.
The policies and procedures detailed
above shall be reviewed from time to time to ensure compliance with
applicable federal and state laws as well as the applicable contractual
provisions of the various labor Agreements shall take precedence.
Student employee records such as
those related to the College Work Study payroll or the student temporary
service payroll are considered educational records and are governed
by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Policies Governing
Student Records. As such, this employment information including verification
of employment is not releasable to anyone without a signed waiver by
the student employee.
Contacts:
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