Benefit Enrollment Forms and Personnel Folder
Hi everyone if anyone can give me some advise I would appreciate it....
My question is, is there anywhere written that you can not file employee enrollment forms or change forms, etc... in there personnel folder. I have heard several different answers. Some say yes, you can as long as it is not medical information which should be keep in a folder within the personnel file. Others have said you can it does matter because only certain employees should have access to the information.
When I put by new hire folders together I have had anywhere from 6 - 8 tabs and they include:
Tab 1 - Personal Info (application;offer letter; eeo form (if applicable); personal info sheet
Tab 2 - Tax Info (W4; state w/h; dd etc)
Tab 3 - Benefit Info (enrollment forms for medical;dental;life;ltd;std etc) and confirmation from provider showing the employee was successfully enrolled and change forms etc..
Tab 4 - 401(k) or (b) enrollment/changes etc
Tab 5 - Change forms (title ; pay; address; dept change; etc)
Tab 6 - Performance Reviews
Tab 7 - Leave Request Forms
Tab 8 - Stock Option
If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.
Thanks
Comments
Hi everyone if anyone can give me some advise I would appreciate it....
My question is, is there anywhere written that you can not file employee enrollment forms or change forms, etc... in there personnel folder. I have heard several different answers. Some say yes, you can as long as it is not medical information which should be keep in a folder within the personnel file. Others have said you can it does matter because only certain employees should have access to the information.
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If there's medical information such as questions about medication, prior conditions, surgeries, etc, then placing the form in the employee file violates ADA, which requires separate filing of such information. If there is information on there that people who have access to the files need not know about then I would file separately simply to maintain that barrier between the information and the eyeballs of those who don't need to see it.
[quote user="IT HR"]I don't have this in writting, but I was on a webinar yesterday with an attorney who gave the recommendation that any and all things related to benefits should be kept in a seperate folder from the personnel files. [/quote]
To my knowledge, that's lowest common denominator advice. That is, you can never go wrong doing that except to say that it MAY be an unnecessary expense. Would love to know more about the reasoning behind that other than if I were an attorney talking to a room full of people whose business practices and file access I didn't not understand, that's the advice I would give, too.
Check your State's laws concerning personnel files. My State's laws are pretty, shall we say, non-existant, but others might be more in depth.
What we have now is a traffic-light system. A green folder that is the official personnel file and contains anything used to make decisions related to the job of the employee...wage increases, departmental transfers, official disciplinary notices and on-the-job training, performance reviews. A yellow folder that is strictly confidential...which includes the enrollment forms for benefits and direct deposit/tax info, emergency notification info, EEO info. Anything in there will be things that usually aren't needed to be seen by a supervisor when making decisions related to the employee's job. A red folder for all medical info...workman's comp claims, doctor's notes, STD claims, anything that might fall under HIPPA.
[quote user="gi_janearng"] [...] anything that might fall under HIPPA.[/quote]
Note that most medical privacy concerns of employers actually result from ADA, not from HIPAA except in cases where the employer is self insured or takes on any aspect of the administration of actual medical benefits.