Purpose:
Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) has established a policy regarding public access to employee personnel records.
Scope:
This policy applies to all DSCC employees.
Policy:
Under the provisions of T.C.A. §10-7-503, personnel records are considered public records and may be inspected, extracted, or copied by any citizen of Tennessee during normal business hours, in accordance with reasonable rules of the office having custody of such records.
However, T.C.A §10-7-504(f)(1) treats as confidential the following information: home telephone and personal cell phone numbers; bank account information; social security number; driver’s license information except where driving or operating a vehicle is part of the employee’s job description or job duties or is incidental to the performance of his/her job; residential information, including the street address, city, state, and zip code for any state employee; and the same information of immediate family members or household members. This information must be redacted wherever possible, but access to otherwise public information shall not be limited or denied because a record contains confidential information. Further, this information is available to law enforcement agencies, courts, or other governmental agencies performing official functions.
The Human Resource Director shall serve as the official custodian of permanent personnel records and is responsible for their maintenance. The authority of the official custodian may be delegated to such assistants as are provided by DSCC.
DSCC has a procedure to inform employees concerning records maintained about them and to permit them, upon request, to review the material. Pursuant to T.C.A. § 8-50-108, a state employee may inspect his/her own personnel file at any reasonable time. The employee may request copies of any material contained in such file, which copies shall be furnished to the employee upon payment of the cost of such reproduction. DSCC also has a procedure to monitor the release of information contained in personnel files in a manner consistent with individual rights to privacy and institutional or school and external needs for information.
As defined in T.C.A. § 10-7-301(b), public record(s) or state record(s) means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings, or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency.
Nothing in this policy shall require the maintenance of any record for any period of time in excess of any retention period established by the College, the Tennessee Board of Regents, or State or Federal law.
Compliance:
All Dyersburg State Community College employees are expected to adhere to this policy.
Definitions:
N/A
Revision History:
Policy created November 2004. Policy revised December 2012; approved by Administrative Council on 12/14/2012.