Policy Statement

Duke maintains individually identifiable personnel files on persons who have been or who are its staff, for the purpose of making employment decisions.

A staff member is entitled to inspect or to obtain a copy of his or her own Duke or department personnel file. Duke personnel files may only be examined within the confines of the Office of Human Resources during normal work hours. A record will be maintained of all individuals and agencies requesting information from personnel files. Department personnel files may only be examined within the confines of a supervisor’s office, with the supervisor present.

No individual or private or public agency external to Duke will be permitted access to any individual's Duke personnel file without the express written consent of the individual concerned, but with the following exceptions.

Information in such files will be provided voluntarily to federal or state agencies when: the agency has jurisdiction to make the particular inquiry, the information being sought is obtainable by subpoena, and the appropriate Duke officials are satisfied that the information being sought is actually pertinent to the agency's inquiry. Duke staff have access to another staff member’s Duke or department personnel file only on the basis of a need to know. All persons examining a file on the basis of a need to know will treat the contents of the file as confidential, unless under legal subpoena and/or when contents may be incorporated into a recommendation governing the future status of the staff member.

Policy Details

• Department Files
• Duke Personnel File
• Recordkeeping

Department Files

Duke staff may review their department personnel file by scheduling an appointment with his or her supervisor. The supervisor must be in attendance during the file review, and the file is to be viewed only within the office where it is kept. Staff may add letters of recommendation or other materials that they deem to be useful for employment references in their department personnel files. When a staff member transfers from one department to another, the department personnel file should be forwarded to the hiring department. The current department may retain a copy of the department personnel file if desired.

Duke Personnel File

The Office of Human Resources maintains a copy of each staff member’s personnel file. This file contains payroll and benefits forms as well as all change-in-status forms and other correspondence regarding a staff member’s employment history at Duke. These files are available for review by a staff member upon request. The staff member should contact the Human Resources Office to schedule an appointment. In all cases, the file is to be viewed only within the Office of Human Resources. Ordinarily, the only information that will be released from a staff member's personnel file in response to an outside inquiry will be job titles and dates of employment – except in instances when further information is required to be divulged by law or by the provisions of an applicable contract or grant. A staff member may authorize the release of additional information by submitting a written request to the entity or department Human Resources representative or the Duke Human Resources office. To ensure accurate contact information and to comply with the Internal Revenue Service's tax reporting requirements, staff members must immediately report any of the following changes to their supervisor and/or to Duke Human Resources:

• Name
• Address
• Emergency contacts
• Immigration status
• Marital stat

Recordkeeping Requirements

Ordinarily, the only information that will be released from a staff member's personnel file in response to an outside inquiry will be job title and dates of employment, except in instances when further information is required to be divulged by law or by the provisions of an applicable contract or grant. A staff member may authorize the release of additional information (e.g., for bank, credit or employment references) by submitting a written request to the entity/department Human Resources representative or the Duke Human Resources office.

The following chart provides employment recordkeeping requirements. Most of this information is stored centrally in HR/Payroll records and does not need to be kept by the department.

*The safest course is to retain all records for 4 years.