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HRM Policies & Procedures Manual
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Records Retention
Official Personnel File
Confidential File
Personal Materials File
Handling of Official Personnel File During Grievance Proceedings (UUP)
Records Retention and Disposition - SUNY Schedule for education and SUNY-specific records and general schedule for NYS government records
 
Official Personnel File
Contents: Store information in chronological order. Start with oldest information in the back of the file. Retain only final copy of any paperwork.

The file contains the following material: resume, official transcripts, position release, Faculty and Professional appointment form, contract letters, welcome from the president and vice president/provost/CIO, original offer of appointment, all subsequent change or leave request forms, performance programs and evaluations, letters of reappointment/ permanency or continuing status.

Maintained By: Functional vice president/provost/CIO
Minimum Retention and Disposition: Destroy 6 years after employee separation from agency, unless earlier disposition is permitted under terms of a labor-management contractual agreement. In the event of a suit or change, keep the file until a final disposition is rendered.


Confidential Personnel File
Contents: A request for reasonable accommodation (in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act).
Maintained By: Functional vice president/provost/CIO
Minimum Retention and Disposition: Destroy 3 years after final resolution of grievance or request, and after execution of any stipulations or termination of any accommodation provided.

Contents: A request for leave as per the family and Medical Leave Act. A medical related information provided.
Maintained By: Functional vice president/provost/CIO
Minimum Retention and Disposition: Destroy 3 years after final resolution of grievance or request, and after execution of any stipulations or termination of any accommodation provided.

Contents: Medical information related to workers' compensation case.
Maintained By: Human Resource Management
Minimum Retention and Disposition: Maintain workers' compensation file until final disposition rendered. Destroy basic record of injuries or illnesses 18 years after the injury or illness. Destroy record of injuries and illnesses 18 years after the injury or illness.


Personal Materials File
Contents: Letters of thanks, congratulations, etc.
Maintained By: Functional vice president/provost/CIO
Minimum Retention and Disposition: Same as official personnel file.

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Organization of Personnel Files

Official Personnel File
(Materials should be clipped to file with two-pronged fastener in the following chronological order, with the most recent in front)

  1. initial appointment forms
  2. official transcripts
  3. vita/resume
  4. letters of reference (non-confidential)
  5. position release
  6. faculty and professional appointment form
  7. letter of welcome from president or vice president/provost/CIO
  8. offer of appointment with original signatures
  9. signed performance program for professionals
  10. subsequent personnel actions-other materials to be included in the official file are recommendations for renewal/non-renewal and/or promotion; salary changes, extra service, sabbatical leaves/leaves of absence, letters of counseling, notices of discipline.
  11. signed performance evaluation for previous year (no drafts); signed performance program for next year
  12. current employee change form which may have letters of recommendation from department chair/division director and/or dean attached
  13. letter of reappointment from president
  14. faculty/professional employment history form attached to inside front cover of folder (prepared by Human Resource Management).

Employees may see their official personnel file within 24 hours of the request. They must view it in the presence of office personnel; nothing is to be removed. A designated UUP representative may view the employee's file with written authorization; otherwise, no one other than the president and vice president/provost/CIO and their designees (managers in the chain of authority and authorized staff with personnel responsibilities) may view the file. There is no requirement to reproduce documents on demand. Copies may be provided at a later time (within 24-48 hours of the request).

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Confidential File

  1. College and/or career placement file.
  2. Selection process report; affirmative action reports that refer to qualifications and assessment of other candidates.
  3. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that medical information be collected and maintained on separate forms in a file separate from the employee's official personnel file. Therefore, any medically related information is to be filed in the confidential file.

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Personal Materials File

  1. Correspondence (optional)
  2. Letters of thanks, congratulations, etc.

Personnel Files (materials they should contain): Article 31.1a of the Agreement states:  Each College shall maintain, for official University purposes, an official personnel file for each employee who is subject to this Agreement. Such file shall contain copies of personnel transactions, official correspondence with the employee and formal, written evaluation reports prepared in accordance with provisions of Article XII, Title A, Section 3 and Article XII, Title C, Section 4 of the Policies and such other written evaluations and/or recommendations as may be prepared by an immediate supervisor, department chairperson, dean, vice president/provost/CIO, or other persons serving in a supervisory capacity in a direct line, as appropriate, in connection with matters of appointment, evaluation, reappointment or promotion. With respect to the latter written evaluations and/or recommendations, those which pertain to reappointment shall be sent to the employee at the time they are prepared. All materials referred to in this section shall be available to an employee for review and response. In no event shall statements which are both unsolicited and unsigned be placed in the official personnel file.

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Handling of Official Personnel File During Grievance Proceedings (UUP)

  1. Upon the filing of a grievance, the grievant's official personnel file will be removed from the vice president/provost/CIO or president's office and will be placed under the jurisdiction of the associate vice president for human resource management for the duration of the grievance proceedings. A representative from the vice president/provost/CIO's office and human resource management will jointly review the file and will label and inventory its contents.
  2. For the duration of the grievance process, the personnel file will not be removed from the office of the associate vice president for human resource management except for those instances when necessary for the processing of personnel transactions. In these instances, the vice president/provost/CIO's office will be responsible for verifying the return of all materials listed in the inventory.
  3. Requests to examine the file by the grievant or a designated UUP representative must be submitted in advance to the associate vice president for human resource management. File review will take place in the presence of the associate vice president or designee.
  4. Copies of any documents requested will be made by the designee of the associate vice president.
  5. Should the settlement of the grievance call for the removal of material from the personnel file, the associate vice president for human resource management will be responsible for implementing this provision of the settlement.

Upon final resolution of the grievance, the personnel file will be returned immediately to the vice president/provost/CIO's office.

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