Confidential Files: The confidential file should be separate from all other files and have limited access. This file should contain insurance, medical information, medical work restrictions, reasonable accommodation, credit, background-check results, drug and alcohol testing, workers compensation, benefits, and personal family information.
Payroll information should also be held in a confidential file. The payroll file should hold a record of the employee’s name, address, date of birth, job title, pay rate, and the dates of applicable pay changes, along with documentation of employment wage-per-hour data, tax and payroll data, garnishments, and documentation of wages earned and taxes paid for each pay period and for the calendar year.
Each of these files should be kept and maintained for the length of time required by law in easily identifiable files that contain all material required by law and company policy. The files should be periodically reviewed as part of a more rigorous HR audit to ensure that they are current, accurate, and complete.
Remember, your HR files are only a small part of your overall HR system. To further protect your practice from human resources liability, a regular HR assessment should be scheduled to evaluate all aspects of HR management, including recruitment and retention, policies and procedures, compensation and benefits, and legal compliance. The U.S. Department of Labor provides free information and access to employment advisors on their recently introduced e-laws Web site, www.dol.gov/elaws. E-laws has Web-based tools available that determine which federal employment laws apply to individual business owners and provides a customized guide on the basic provisions of these laws. Employment laws and their application are specific to your industry and the state where you operate your business. For the best counsel, contact a labor attorney in your area for more information specific to your practice.
For more information on protecting yourself from HR risk and conducting your own in-office HR audit, contact Itara Barnes at [email protected] or (404) 633-3777, ext. 819.
