Applies to:	Original Policy Date:	Date of Last Review:	Approved by:
All Florida Tech Employees	December 1, 2014	September 2023	Ryan Petersen

Policy Owner: Office of Human Resources

Policy Purpose

This policy outlines the employee information that Florida Tech collects and how it is maintained, securely stored, released, and destroyed.

Policy Scope

All Florida Tech employees

Policy Statement

Florida Tech respects the privacy of employee personal information and complies with applicable laws regarding the secure management, retention, and destruction of employee records. State and federal laws require certain information be maintained in personnel files. The university will only collect personal information that is required to pursue its business operations and to comply with government reporting and disclosure requirements.

Procedures/Guidelines

Personal Information

Personal information collected by the university typically includes employee names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, emergency contact information, EEO data/demographical information, social security number, date of birth, employment eligibility data, benefits plan enrollment information, which may include dependent personal information, and school/college or certification credentials.

Personal employee information will be considered confidential and as such will be shared only as required and with those who have a need to have access to such information. A standard of reasonableness will apply in these circumstances. Examples of the release of personal employee information that will not be considered a breach include the following:

• Partial employee birth dates (day and month only) are not considered confidential and will be shared with department heads who elect to recognize employees on such dates.
• Personal telephone numbers or e-mail addresses may be distributed to department heads to facilitate university work schedules or business operations.

Participants in university benefit plans should be aware that personal information will be shared with plan providers as required for claims handling or record keeping needs. Employee and dependent information may be distributed in accordance with open enrollment processes for periodic benefit plan changes or periodic benefits statement updates.

Employees can view and update certain personal information, including address, phone, email, preferred name, pronouns, emergency contact, benefit elections, direct deposit, and federal and state withholdings information in the Human Resources Information System.

University-assigned Information

University-assigned information, which may include organizational charts, department titles and staff charts, job titles, department budgets, coding and recording systems, telephone directories, e-mail lists, facility or location information and addresses are considered to be proprietary university information to be used for internal purposes only. The university maintains the right to communicate and distribute such information as it deems necessary to conduct business operations

Record Storage

All hard copy records will be maintained in locked, secure areas with entry limited to those who have a need for such access. Personal employee information in business system applications will be safeguarded in accordance with the Transmission and Use of Sensitive Information Policy and the Proprietary and Confidential Information Policy.

Release of Employee Information

The university will release name, dates of employment, and job title information for employment verification purposes. Any other information regarding employment at Florida Tech (such as salary) will not be released without a written release. Each request for information must include a release signed by the current or former employee.

Requests for information about current or past employees who have provided written permission to release employment information must be referred to the Office of Human Resources for response. Requests to verify employment should be faxed to: (321) 674-7519 or emailed to hr@fit.edu.

If an employee becomes aware of a material breach in maintaining the confidentiality of employee personal information, whether their own or that of another employee, the employee should report the incident to the Office of Human Resources, which will investigate the alleged incident and take corrective action as appropriate.

Record Retention

The university is subject to record retention requirements, which can vary based on the type of information the record contains and circumstances related to the record. All records must be maintained in a consistent and logical manner ensuring the university:

1. Meets legal standards for protection, storage, and retrieval
2. Minimizes the cost of record retention
3. Destroys inactive records that have no value upon passage of the applicable retention period
4. Disposes of records in a manner appropriate for the data contained

After the required retention period, documents must be destroyed in an acceptable manner:

1. Recycle non-confidential paper records
2. Shred confidential paper records
3. Destroy electronically stored data

Compliance Reference

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Responsibilities

The Office of Human Resources is responsible for the collection, maintenance, and security of employee information and the release of information as required or authorized. It is responsible for investigating any report of alleged material breach of confidentiality and taking corrective action as appropriate.

Employees are responsible to report any known or suspected breach of security or confidentiality of employee records.

Enforcement

Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.