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Piles of sensitive information crosses paths with HR practitioner’s everyday and managing it all can be a daunting task. The communication comes from all sides and in all forms. Topics dealing with health, compensation, employee investigations, harassment claims and related items must be consistently and appropriately managed. Whether it’s a live discussion, e-mail, or telephone call, be prepared when it happens to you. Review these slides and learn how to manage highly sensitive information with “an everyday practical approach” presented by G&A Partners' HR Advisor, Brittany Cullison.
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Managing Sensi*ve Employee Informa*on
Bri6any Cullison, PHR
What to expect
• Types of sensi*ve informa*on and when we commonly encounter it • Confiden*ality and informa*on management best prac*ces
No*ce
• I’m not an a6orney • This is not legal advice, nor should the presenta*on be subs*tuted for experienced legal counsel.
POLL QUESTION
Medical and Health Informa*on
• Medical and health informa*on comes in many forms: • Doctor’s notes with men*on of diagnosis • Worker’s Compensa*on informa*on • ADA reasonable accommoda*on requests or ADA covered informa*on
• FMLA requests or documenta*on • HIPAA covered informa*on*
ADA
• Protects qualified individuals with disabili*es • Has a physical or mental condi*on that substan*ally limits one or more major life ac*vi*es
• Has a record of such an impairment • Is regarded as having such an impairment
• Requires employer to make reasonable accommoda*ons UNLESS doing so would impose undue hardship
FMLA
• Leave permi6ed for: • Birth, adop*on, foster care • Employee’s own medical condi*on • Immediate family member’s medical condi*on • To handle qualifying exigencies • Care for family member injured in ac*ve military • service
FMLA
• Leave permi6ed for • Birth, adop*on, foster care • Employee’s own medical condi*on • Immediate family member’s medical condi*on • Care for family member injured in ac*ve military service
HIPAA
• Provides rights and protec*ons for pa*ents, along with par*cipants and beneficiaries in group health plans
• Prohibits release of PHI without consent
• Typically only applies to self-‐insured
Medical and Health Informa*on
• You receive medical informa*on from an employee— • Evaluate the informa*on • Ask follow up ques*ons, if necessary • Determine next steps • Keep confiden*ality in mind throughout the process
• Document
Medical and Health Informa*on
Confiden*ality best prac*ces with medical informa*on • Medical informa*on in separate, confiden*al file • Medical informa*on released on a need-‐to-‐know basis: • Supervisors or managers that need to be aware of
accommoda*ons • Safety personnel • State Worker’s Comp office • Insurance purposes
Inves*ga*ons
• Inves*ga*ons can be for a variety of reasons, including: • Discrimina*on or harassment claims • Violence in the workplace reports • Other policy or procedural viola*on
Inves*ga*on Best Prac*ces
• Receiving the complaint/report • Get wri6en, signed statements when possible • Ask for witnesses or suppor*ng documents • Clarify that retalia*on is not tolerated
Inves*ga*on Best Prac*ces
• Prepara*on • Review informa*on sources • Determine who needs to be interviewed • Determine ques*ons • Evaluate if interim ac*on is necessary
Inves*ga*on Best Prac*ces
• Conduc*ng the Inves*ga*on • Keep thorough documenta*on • Introduc*on • Listen • Talk to everyone with relevant informa*on
Inves*ga*on Best Prac*ces
• Inves*ga*on Wrap up • Review the gathered informa*on • Make determina*on and develop ac*on plan • Communicate decision • Prepare report
Inves*ga*on Best Prac*ces
• Inves*ga*ons should be: • Prompt • Complete • Consistent • Objec*ve • Credible • and handled with confiden*ality best prac*ces!
Employee Discipline/Termina*on
• Use discre*on when preparing for or conduc*ng disciplinary/termina*on mee*ngs • Informa*on shared on a need-‐to-‐know basis • Mee*ngs held with privacy and security in mind
Employee Personal Informa*on
• HR and administra*ve offices encounter personal informa*on on employees in many different forms: • I-‐9 Documenta*on • New Hire paperwork containing personal data • Direct Deposit • Payroll files • Includes customer informa*on as well • ID thea preven*on is cri*cal!
POLL QUESTION
ID Thea Preven*on
• Evaluate informa*on security and disposal • How easy is it for someone to access your office during business hours?
• How long documents stay at the printer before some one retrieves them?
• Are documents that contain personal informa*on lea out una6ended?
• Are computer screens being locked every *me someone leaves there desk?
ID Thea Preven*on
• Are cabinets and drawers being locked? • Are emails that contain personal informa*on being sent securely?
• Are documents properly shredded when no longer needed?
• Who in the office has access to sensi*ve informa*on?
ID Thea Preven*on
• Develop a protec*on plan • Conduct a “walk through” • Iden*fy poten*al risks • Create easy to follow guidelines and procedures • Educate your employees • The importance of protec*ng personal informa*on.
• Measure that the company will take to began this process.
• How the process will be enforced.
ID Thea Preven*on
• Have a Breach Plan • No*fy employee, law enforcement and possibly FTC
• No*fy credit bureaus • Conduct internal inves*ga*on • Take steps to minimize or prevent addi*onal loss
Company Informa*on
• Employees will oaen come to HR or Managers with ques*on of upcoming changes • Be very careful of what you pass to employees
Employee Files
• Do you maintain a separate employee file for confiden*al informa*on? • Medical records • Pre-‐employment medical exam and/or drug screen results • Applica*on for Employee Assistance Program • Any Private Health Informa*on (PHI) as defined by HIPAA • Any medical records with personally iden*fiable informa*on
(FMLA requests forms if the employee has disclosed the nature of his/her illness)
• Return to work releases • Workers compensa*on records including First Report of Injury
Employee Files
• Inves*ga*on Records • Discrimina*on or harassment complaints, including inves*ga*on
reports • Legal case informa*on • Complaints of conduct/policy viola*ons, including inves*ga*on notes
and/ or reports
• Security Clearance and Inves*ga*on Records • Background check results, including any arrest and/or convic*on
records and reports of criminal history • Personal credit history
Employee File Best Prac*ces
• All personnel data should be maintained securely • Have a locked file cabinet • Manager access only for normal file • Upper level manager/HR access for confiden*al file
General guidelines
• Employee informa*on should always be treated as sensi*ve informa*on • Use the “need-‐to-‐know” rule when other guidelines are absent • Keep company confiden*ality policies in mind • The best approach is the ethical approach