• Employers should keep certain employee files confidential.

Not everyone should be allowed access to any type of employee file. Only those persons who have a need to know about the information contained in the files should have access.

In addition, those who make such decisions on who is hired, promoted, demoted, or terminated should not have access to documents that reveal protected status. This may include managers and supervisors who may be involved in such employment decisions.

Under the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, protected status includes gender, national origin, age, disability, race/color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and genetic information. States may also add to this to include hairstyles, marital status, ancestry, military status, use or nonuse of a lawful product off the employer’s premises during nonworking hours, marijuana use, and vaccine status.