Policy 122 - Personnel Records

Section: Employment
Policy Number: 122
Responsible Office: HR/HR Services
Effective Date: 4/1/01
Revised: 9/18/08

Scope

All University staff and administrators.

Policy

The Office of Human Resources maintains the official personnel files for all staff and administrators. Medical, pension and payroll files are maintained separately in compliance with laws and office procedure.

The contents of personnel files are considered confidential and are the exclusive property of St. John’s University. Access to personnel records is restricted to protect the privacy of employees. Breaches of confidentiality by an employee may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

The HR Recruitment department maintains the employment records of student workers (refer to Student Employment policy #111). Faculty personnel files are maintained by the Deans’ offices in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.

Procedure

Employees may review the contents of their personnel file by making a written request to HR Services. Upon receiving a request, an HR Services representative will schedule an appointment for the employee to review his or her file in the Human Resources office. Employee may not remove any contents of their file, nor is St. John’s obligated to provide copies of file contents to employees. Employees who have separated from the University will not be permitted to review their personnel file.

Persons other than the employee may have access to personnel files only on a need-to-know basis. Requests for personnel records information from outside the University are granted only in the following cases: 1) for Federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies, or as mandated by law; 2) to protect the legal interests of the University; and 3) where the information is considered public information (e.g., name, position title, verification of employment, etc.).

St. John's University, New York
Human Resources Policy Manual