Arizona Contractor & Community Fall 2015 V4 I3 | Page 22

Construction Around Arizona

If It’s Personal, It Might Not Belong
in the Personnel File!
Sherry Downer
Fennemore Craig, Tucson. Practicing in Business and
Employment Law

I

t is important for businesses to know the
type of information that should and
should not be included in a basic employee
personnel file. Basic personnel files are
accessible to internal personnel such as
supervisors and Human Resources as well
as persons outside the company such as
former employees and Federal and State
agencies conducting audits or investigating
harassment and discrimination claims.
Certain information, such as medical
records, is protected and belongs in a
separate confidential file. Other types of
records should be kept in separate files for
strategic reasons, such as limiting the
information available in the event of an
audit to only what the auditor is legally
entitled to. Employers may have several
different employment record filing systems
based on categories of information and
access restrictions.
The following are categories of
information that should be kept in a
separate file with restricted access, not
the basic personnel file.
● Immigration Form (I-9) and related
documentation
● Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
Records
Any EEO data collection should be
maintained separately as well as any other
hiring or employment records and used
only for reporting purposes such as for an
affirmative action program (AAP), the Form
EEO-1 and internal diversity tracking.
● Hiring Records
Subjective
interview
notes,
employment test results, background
checks including criminal history and credit
reports and other hiring records if they
contain protected information.
● Payroll and Tax Records
Payroll and tax information such as W-4s,
withholding forms, pay information, wage

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deduction authorizations, and timekeeping records.
● Medical/Insurance/Benefits/ Worker’s
Compensation
Medical
questionnaires,
benefit
enrollment forms and claims, personal
information collected for insurance and
other
coverage,
doctors
notes,
accommodation requests, and Workers’
Compensation injuries and claims records.
● Investigation or Litigation Records and
Court Orders
Records other than the relevant
disciplinary action, counseling or other
direct communications relating to an
employment investigation, complaint or
charge should be kept separate from the
basic personnel file. Court orders relating
to child support or garnishments should
also be maintained separately.
So, what records should be contained in
a basic personnel file?

● Job descriptions
● Records relating to job offers,
promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff,
discipline, and termination.
● Performance evaluations, goals,
education, training, and letters of
recognition.

● Records relating to emp