Personnel Records
Purpose
The Human Resources Office maintains personnel files for all employees of the College.
While employees' managers may establish and maintain their own records regarding
employees under their supervision, the original copy of any document warranting
retention must be forwarded to Human Resources for inclusion in the employee's
personnel file.
Policy Statement
Information found in the personnel file should include, but is not limited to: completed
application form, employment reference information, other documents generated during
the hiring process, benefits enrollment and retirement information, information required
to satisfy reporting requirements of professional, federal, state, or local agencies,
information regarding changes in compensation or employee status (such as promotions,
transfer, demotion, or separations), performance evaluations, disciplinary actions and
related documentation, and authorizations for release of information.
Information regarding the medical condition or history of an employee is not to be
included in the personnel file or any other personnel record maintained by management,
but will be separately maintained in segregated medical files in Human Resources.
Documents pertaining to the right to work (I9 forms) and EEO status will be maintained
in another segregated file.
Access
Employee: Any current employee may review his/her own official personnel file upon
24-hour notice, in the presence of a member of the Human Resources staff. This allows
the Human Resources staff to audit the file to ensure no other employee's information has
been accidentally misfiled.
Current Supervisor or administrator: Upon making an appointment, the direct supervisor
and the appropriate administrators of a current employee may have access to the
employee's personnel file, including performance evaluations, and disciplinary actions
and related documentation. In order to allow Human Resources personnel to remove
references to tax and benefit enrollment, 24-hour notice must be given.
Hiring Supervisor: In cases in which a current employee is making application for
another position within the College, the hiring supervisor may not have access to the
applicant's personnel file. The hiring supervisor may contact Human Resources to request
that either the director, associate director, or generalist review the applicant's records to
provide pertinent information regarding the applicant's candidacy.
Outside Requests: All outside requests for information contained in personnel records
should be referred to Human Resources. The College will not provide reference
information without a job-specific completed Release of Information and Waiver of
Liability form provided to Human Resources. Middlebury College may provide certain
employee information to third parties, such as governmental or law enforcement agencies,
as required to satisfy legal requirements.
Integrity of Records
Employees are not permitted to alter or remove any information from their personnel
records at any time. An employee may offer a correction, amendment, or rebuttal for
addition to his/her records upon written request.
Change in Employee Information
An employee is responsible for notifying Human Resources of any change in personal
information, such as change in name, home address, home telephone number, persons to
contact in case of an emergency, beneficiaries, dependents, or income tax withholdings