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Personnel Files

Biggest Investigation Error: Skipping the Follow-Up Phase

05/01/2006

Too many HR people close the book on harassment investigations too early. By failing to check if harassment has flared up again, you open the organization to further liability …

New I-9, W-4 needed when employee changes name?

05/01/2006

Q. When employees get married, do we need new W-4s to show the new name? And do we need new I-9s (which, I assume, would require supporting documentation in the new name)? — M.G., Washington

Part of Sarbanes-Oxley law applies to all employers

05/01/2006

Q. I work for a nonprofit social service organization. Do such organizations have to comply with SOX rules? —J.M., New Jersey

EEOC action spurs longer recordkeeping

04/01/2006

If you think that you can forget about a discrimination dispute just because the employee doesn’t file an EEOC complaint within the allotted time, you may be in for a surprise. As a new court ruling shows, the EEOC can sue your organization years, or even decades, after the alleged discrimination took place …

Labor Department to revise foreign worker certification rules

04/01/2006

The U.S. Labor Department is proposing changes to the way non-U.S. citizens are certified for permanent employment in the United States. Specifically, the government would prevent employers from shifting visas from one foreign worker to another …

Illegal workers’ presence continues to grow

04/01/2006

Undocumented immigrants now make up almost 5 percent of the U.S. work force, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center study. The number of people living illegally in the country rose by at least 400,000 last year …

Don’t require staff to give emergency contact info

03/01/2006

Q. We’re cleaning up our personnel files and updating emergency contact information. Some employees don’t want to provide their contact information. Is it legal for us to require them to give it to us? —S.S., California

Turn your paper HR forms into electronic versions

02/01/2006

Issue: You can use Adobe Acrobat’s PDF Creator to convert old typewritten forms to digital ones.
Benefit: Save time (for you, employees and applicants), save paper and impress the boss …

State law decides if workers can see personnel file

02/01/2006

Q. Are we required to let terminated employees come in and view their actual personnel files, or can we copy the information and send it via mail? One of our fired employees has hired an attorney and wants to see her file. —T.M. California

Employees’ right to view personnel file is a state issue

01/01/2006

Q. I support the concept of permitting employees to view their personnel files upon request, but I want to know if any law or regulation requires us to provide access. If so, where can I find out about this law/regulation? I’ve been unable to find the rule, and I’m beginning to suspect that we’ve passed this “law” around so long in HR that we believe it exists. –R.C., Alabama