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Board Policies & Procedures

Disseminating Employee Information

4041.5 Disseminating Employee Information

  1. Purpose. To protect the privacy interests of employees of the College, and to comply with the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act, 820 ILCS 40/1 et seq., and all other applicable federal and state laws, this policy has been adopted to explain the conditions under which the College will permit the dissemination of employeesÆ personnel records, employeesÆ medical records or any and all other confidential employee information or records which relate in any way to an employeeÆs employment or medical information.
  2. Definition of Confidential Employee Information. ôConfidential Employee Informationö refers to, but is not limited to, employeesÆ home addresses, telephone numbers, work schedules, working papers, examinations, evaluations, medical information or records of any type, performance evaluations, any disciplinary reports, as well as other information which may be prohibited from dissemination or disclosure under this policy or any other federal or state laws.
  3. Disseminating Employee Personal Information. Except as described below, no employee of the College, other than the Human Resources Director or the DirectorÆs designee, shall release, disclose or disseminate in any manner confidential employee information, as defined above, about current or former employees to any person without first obtaining one of the following:
    1. the appropriate written authorization form which is required by the College from the current or former employee in question. Forms may differ depending on the type of information or documentation requested; or
    2. written authorization from the Director of Human Resources or the DirectorÆs designee.
  4. Department Management Exception for Personnel Records. The Director of Human Resources or the DirectorÆs designee may release, disseminate or disclose information from employeesÆ personnel files to the employeesÆ departmental management members for employment-related reasons without obtaining written authorization as set forth in paragraph 3 of this policy.
  5. Departmental Management Exception for Medical Records. The Director of Human Resources or the DirectorÆs designee may release, disseminate or disclose records from employeesÆ medical files or information relating to employeesÆ medical conditions to the employeesÆ departmental management members only to the extent that the departmental management members need to know this information. For example, if an employee has a medically imposed work restriction, departmental management members only need to know the nature of the restriction, not all of the medical history underlying the restriction.
  6. Inappropriate Disclosures or Dissemination Prohibited. In order to properly protect the privacy interests of all employees of the College, it is imperative that employees who are permitted access to, or entrusted in any manner with confidential employee information, personnel records, and employee medical records do not disclose this information to any persons, including other co-workers, in violation of this policy. Discussions involving confidential employee information should only ensue in private settings, e.g., conferences with departmental management members who are entitled to know the information being discussed, the Human Resources Department, the Health Services Coordinator, or other confidential venues.
  7. Duty to Report Inappropriate Disclosures. If any employee believes that his or her confidential information has been inappropriately disclosed or disseminated, it is their duty to contact the Human Resources Director so that the College may attempt to rectify the situation immediately and so that any further inappropriate disclosures or dissemination of information may cease.
  8. Letters of Reference. When a current employee asks another employee to issue a letter of reference on behalf of the College, the College employee may issue the letter after it has been approved by the Director of Human Resources or the DirectorÆs designee. Any questions concerning such letters should be directed to the Director of Human Resources.
  9. Reference Checks. The College shall act in accordance with the Employment Record Disclosure Act, 745 ILCS 46, and any other applicable federal or state laws in providing information about employees or former employees to prospective employers.
  10. Subpoenas. Upon the issuance of a subpoena for any confidential employee information, the subpoena will be reviewed by the CollegeÆs attorney. Upon being advised by the College attorney that release of the requested information is permissible, the College will authorize the release of the appropriate information.
  11. Union Requests. Requests for personal information by the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit of College employees will be evaluated according to the terms of any collective bargaining agreement and the standards set forth under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 115 ILCS 5/1 et seq., and all other applicable federal and state laws.
  12. The Illinois Personnel Record Review Act. Employees may inspect their personnel files in accordance with the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act. Employees may contact the Human Resources Director to make an appointment to see their files.
  13. The Freedom of Information Act. The College adheres to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, in respect to disclosure to third persons of records in personnel files of employees. The following employee information is subject to public disclosure under the FOIA: name, position, title, salary, and dates of employment. Other personnel information may be made available for official use or as required by law.
Adopted Date
06-15-1999
Revised Date
05-27-2003