Staff HR Policy D-743.01
Institutional Effectiveness Criterion: Culture

Employee Personnel Record Procedure

For the purposes of this procedure, "employee" means a person currently or formerly employed by Northwestern Michigan College (NMC).

Employee Access to Own Record

In accordance with Michigan's Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act (Act 397 of 1978), an employee may have access to view his or her official personnel file at reasonable intervals, generally not more than two times in a calendar year.  An employee who wishes to review his or her file must make a written request (see attached form) to Human Resources which describes the personnel record.  Review of the file will take place at a location determined by Human Resources during regular business hours of Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., in the presence of someone designated by the Office of Human Resources.  If a review during normal office hours would require an NMC employee to take time off from work, NMC will provide some other reasonable time or location that would be more convenient to the employee. 

After looking at the file, an employee may obtain a copy of any or all information contained in the file by request.  If an employee demonstrates that he or she is unable to review his or her personnel file at NMC's Office of Human Resources, NMC will mail a copy of the requested record to the employee upon written request by the employee.  A charge of 10 cents per page may be charged for copies made.

Disagreement with Information in Record

If there is a disagreement with information contained in the personnel file, removal or correction of that information may be mutually agreed upon by NMC and the employee.  If an agreement is not reached, the employee may submit a written statement explaining his or her position, not exceeding 5 pages of 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, which will be appended to the challenged record for as long as the record is retained and will be included when the information is divulged to a third party.

Access by NMC Employees to Record

NMC keeps an employee's personnel file in a confidential manner.  Access to the information in an employee's personnel file is generally limited to the Office of Human Resources, the employee, the employee's authorized representative, and to the employee's supervisor or a potential supervisor if there is a real business-related need to view the information in the file. 

Access by Non-Employees to Record

There are limited situations in which non-employees may be given information.  In all cases, the permission of the Director of Human Resources or designee will be required before information may be revealed in the following situations:

• Medical records may be accessed by NMC's emergency response team or designated health care provider if applicable.
• Medical records may be reviewed by NMC's designated ADA or Workers Compensation coordinator, along with the supervisor as required, to determine whether job accommodations or light duty assignments can be made or for other relevant purposes.
• Family members may seek access to an employee's records due to a serious illness, accident, or death. While family members may have a legitimate need for benefit information, NMC will provide that information without providing access to the employee's personnel file. Access to employee files will only be provided to family members with the written permission of the employee or the employee's attorney, e.g. Power of Attorney.
• For any requests for information from the courts, NMC will require a subpoena, warrant, garnishment order, child support order, or other appropriate court document before releasing the information.
• NMC will respond appropriately to Freedom of Information Act requests. 

For verification of employment requests, see D-760.00 Employment Verification and References Procedure.

In the event this procedure does not effectively meet the needs of the employee(s) and/or the institution in a particular situation, the Director of Human Resources (or designee) may make exceptions on a non-precedent- setting basis for individuals, in consultation with relevant staff or others as necessary.

If any provision(s) of this policy or set of bylaws conflicts with laws applicable to Northwestern Michigan College, including the Community College Act of 1966, the Freedom of Information Act, or the Open Meetings Act, as each may be amended from time to time, such laws shall control and supersede such provision(s).