Policy, Privacy and Risk

Persons working for wages or salary for the polytechnic are, of course, employees. The FOIP Act expands on this to include any person working on a contract. The FOIP Act definition of an employee, in relation to a public body, includes:

• a person who performs a service for the public body as an appointee
• a volunteer or student
• a person under a contract or agency relationship with the public body

Under the authority of the Colleges Act of Alberta, which mandates the polytechnic provide programs and services, and as per the FOIP Act, the polytechnic collects only the employee information it needs with respect to:

• recruiting
• hiring
• work assignments
• payroll and benefits
• work performance
• participation in professional development activities

Personal information collected from employees is used to:

• manage programs and services
• maintain financial records related to earnings
• make appropriate contacts when emergencies occur
• provide library and computer services
• use a particular service (i.e. Health and Counselling, paid parking)

Personal information is used only for the purposes indicated above or for purposes consistent with the original reason it was collected.

Information is released only if release is permitted under the FOIP Act or if written consent for disclosure is obtained from the employee.

Some personal information is provided in specific reports to Revenue Canada or Statistics Canada. Similarly, personal information is provided to Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP) and benefit plan insurers. Included in this information are such items as:

• name
• gender
• birth date
• SIN
• earnings details
• mailing address

Not all Lethbridge Polytechnic employees have access to all employee records. Many restrictions apply to access of an employee’s personal information. Some employees need this information to carry out their professional responsibilities, such as processing payroll accounts or providing work assignments.

Without written consent, your personal information cannot be released to third parties, such as:

• your spouse, parent or family member
• bank loans officer
• a future employer
• other polytechnic employees

The release of information to a committee that organizes social functions is considered a consistent use of employee information and is permitted. However, this does not include giving out birth dates for the purpose of celebrating birthdays or information about births, deaths or other family events. Such information is best gathered within each area on an informal, consensual basis and used in an informal manner.

Employees can routinely release “business card” details. Other employee-related information that is routinely available from the appropriate administrative office includes:

• Position details: The position description with the names of employees and other personal information severed (whited-out). The working hours for a position, not an employee.
• Benefits: Salary range for employees. General information about the benefits offered to employees, but no specific details of any coverage unique to an individual or use of a benefit. The details of any discretionary benefit (e.g. bonus, incentive award, negotiated severance) provided such disclosure does not reveal the actual salary or allow it to be calculated.
• Hiring: The names of screening or selection panels for hiring, including job titles. The screening criteria for hiring. Interview plans can be disclosed after the interview has taken place. The announcement of new employees.
• Leaves: General information about educational leaves, including criteria for application and/or acceptance.
• Collective agreements: A signed memorandum of agreement or collective bargaining agreements. Arbitration decisions. Decisions to exclude positions from a bargaining unit with any personal information severed. Union steward lists.
• Personal: Your access to your own personal information.

All records containing personal information should be reviewed carefully before they are released to ensure that information is not being inappropriately disclosed. Some records will need to have portions severed (whited-out) before release.

The following information is not routinely available without your written consent:

• home address and phone number
• birth date
• salary and payroll details
• performance evaluations
• health history
• employment history
• educational history

All requests for this type of information can be referred to Human Resources.

Information collected from employees through the hiring process as well as through your working career here is kept secure and access to it is restricted. A computerized system maintains many important employee records. Access to this system is restricted by password protection. Personnel files in Human Resources are accessible to an employee and, with some restrictions, accessible to that employee’s supervisor.