Chapter 14 - Personnel Records and Reports

City of Redmond Personnel Manual

Chapter 14 - PERSONNEL RECORDS AND REPORTS

14.10 Central Personnel Files

14.20 Department Working Files

14.30 Employee Duties Regarding Personal Information

14.40 Supervisory Duties Regarding Reporting of Personnel Actions

14.50 Records Retention

14.60 Employee Access

14.70 Disclosure of Employee Records

14.80 Employment Verification and Reference Checks

14.10 Central Personnel Files

(rev. 7/2018)

A central personnel file for each employee is created and maintained by the Human Resources Department. The central personnel file is the City's official record for each employee. The Human Resources Department is responsible to oversee record keeping for all personnel information and will determine what information should be collected and how it should be stored and secured.

14.20 Department Working Files

(rev. 7/2018)

Departments may create and maintain working files pertaining to each department employee. Department working files are not part of, and may not substitute for, the employee's central personnel file. Employees have the same access to department files as to their central personnel file.

14.30    Employee Duties Regarding Personal Information

(rev. 7/2018)

Employees are responsible to notify the Human Resources Department in writing concerning changes to any of the following:

- Name,

- Address,

- Telephone number,

- Personal email address,

- Marital status (for benefits and tax withholding purposes),

- Number of dependents,

- Address and telephone numbers of dependents and spouse or domestic partner, or former spouse or domestic partner (for insurance purposes),

- Beneficiary designations for any of the City’s insurance and disability plans, and for the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems retirement plans, and

- Persons to be notified in case of emergency.

Failure to timely notify the Human Resources Department of changes to personal information may adversely impact the City’s ability to communicate with relevant individuals when necessary. For example, in the event of a medical emergency resulting in an employee’s hospitalization, the City may be unable to timely notify the employee’s spouse or partner if that information has not previously been provided.

Additionally, employees who have a change in the number of dependents or marital status should complete a new Form W-4 for income tax withholding purposes.

14.40 Supervisory Duties Regarding Reporting of Personnel Actions

(rev. 7/2018)

Supervisors and/or managers are responsible to report to the Human Resources Department within ten working days every appointment, transfer, promotion, disciplinary action, demotion, suspension, change in compensation, resignation, or any other change in employment status.

14.50 Records Retention

(rev. 7/2018)

Policy

Personnel records shall generally be retained for the time periods specified in state and federal records retention laws. Actual retention periods may be extended by receipt of a complaint or grievance, when litigation is commenced or reasonably anticipated, when the City is provided a litigation hold notice, or when management deems it necessary to retain the record in order to facilitate the orderly administration of the City.

14.60 Employee Access

(rev. 7/2018)

Inspection

Employees may inspect their own personnel records and may request copies, but must not remove, documents in the file. A request to inspect the central personnel file must be made to the Human Resources Department and will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time. All inspections of the employee’s central personnel file must be conducted in the presence of a designated member of the Human Resourced Department. A reasonable charge, not to exceed the actual cost to the City, may be imposed for copies of records.

A request to inspect a department file pertaining to a particular employee must be made in writing to the employee’s immediate supervisor or the department director and will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time. All inspections of the department file must be conducted in the presence of a department designee. A reasonable charge, not to exceed the actual cost to the City, may be imposed for copies of records.

Removal or Rebuttal of Information

An employee who believes that a document in his/her central personnel file contains incomplete, inaccurate, or irrelevant information may submit a written request to the Human Resources Director that the document be removed. If the Human Resources Director denies the employee’s request, the employee may place a written statement of disagreement in his/her central personnel file.

An employee who believes that a document in his/her department file contains incomplete, inaccurate, or irrelevant information may submit a written request to any person in the employee’s chain-of-command that the document be removed. If management denies the employee’s request, the employee may place a written statement of disagreement in his/her department file.

14.70 Disclosure of Employee Records

(rev. 7/2018)

Generally, only the employee, the employee's supervisors, managers, department director, the Mayor, the City’s legal counsel, and employees of the Human Resources Department have access to the central personnel file. However, records in an employee’s central personnel file may be subject to disclosure pursuant to discovery requests made in the litigation context or, in some instances, when requested pursuant to the Public Records Act. In order to protect employees’ privacy, absent a court order, certain information/documents will not be released to the public even if a request for disclosure of public records has been made. For example, the employee’s address and home phone number will not be released. In the event an employee’s address and home phone number is included on a document that must be disclosed, the address and home phone number will be redacted prior to disclosure. Upon receipt of a written public records request for documents in the central personnel file of an individual who remains a current employee of the City, the Human Resources Department will notify the affected employee prior to disclosure of the record.

14.80    Employment Verification and Reference Checks

(rev. 7/2018)

The Human Resources Department will verify employment of current and former employees upon request from prospective employers, or financial organizations (such as banks, mortgage companies and credit bureaus), and other government entities.

Unless the employee has provided written consent to provide additional information, or unless required by law, the Human Resources Department provide only the following information:

- The employee's full name;

- Dates of employment;

- Job title and/or classification;

- Rate of pay.

Supervisors and managers may, at their discretion, respond to reference inquiries from prospective employers of current and former City employees. Prior to responding to reference inquiries, supervisors and managers are encouraged to obtain a waiver signed by the current or former employee releasing the City and the supervisor from liability. The supervisor or manager should retain a copy of the release for two years.