• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Personnel Files

Limit attacks on purging records with a clear retention policy

12/01/2007

If you develop a reasonable retention policy and follow through by regularly deleting information you don’t need, chances are an employee later won’t be able to say you intentionally interfered with the ability to present a legal case …

Do supervisors’ ‘Unofficial’ employee files raise any legal red flags?

12/01/2007

Q. We have several supervisors who insist on keeping their own private files on employees in their departments, especially to record absences and comp days. Is this legal? …

Don’t share HR files that wipe out attorney-Client privilege

12/01/2007

If you want to avoid airing your organization’s dirty laundry in public, take note: Before you turn over a copy of an employee’s personnel record, go through the file carefully. Remove any correspondence between the HR office and your attorney. It is technically privileged communication …

Going paperless: Can personnel records be electronic?

12/01/2007

Q. We’re drowning in paper and would like to go paperless. Can we create strictly electronic personnel and payroll records? — T.P., Indiana …

New law puts curbs on Social Security numbers on paychecks

12/01/2007

Q. We’ve heard that a new law changes how we use Social Security numbers in the workplace. Is that true? …

Reporting requirements under the Georgia New Hire Reporting Program

12/01/2007

Q. I’ve heard that Georgia law requires employers to report new hires to the Georgia Department of Labor, but I can’t find any such requirement in the department’s rules …

Pending ‘No-Match’ rules put employers in difficult positions

12/01/2007

The Social Security Administration every year sends thousands of “no-match” letters to employers asking for help matching Social Security numbers with employee names. In recent years, however, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has sought to transform the no-match letter system into a mechanism for enforcing laws against illegal immigration …

Can the ‘Paperless office’ work in an HR environment?

12/01/2007

Q. Our office manager wants to move to a paperless system. Are there any documents that we must maintain in paper form? …

New I-9 form plus no-Match letters complicate hiring process

12/01/2007

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just released a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for immediate use and a new M-274, Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing the Form I-9 …

What are the rules on access to personnel files for employees outside Texas?

12/01/2007
Q. If a Texas-based company has divisions in several other states, does the Texas law allowing employers to deny employees a look at their personnel files still apply?