406.0 Public and Private Personnel Da

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PERSONNEL DATA

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to school district employees as to the data the school district collects and maintains regarding its personnel.

II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

1. All data on individuals collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by the school district, which is classified by statute or federal law as public, shall be accessible to the public pursuant to the procedures established by the school district.
2. All other data on individuals is private or confidential.

III. DEFINITIONS

1. “Public” means that the data is available to anyone who requests it.
2. “Private” means the data is available to the subject of the data and to school district staff who need it to conduct the business of the school district.
3. “Confidential” means the data are not public and are not available to the data subject.
4. “Personnel data” means data on individuals collected because they are or were employees of the school district, or an individual was an applicant for employment, or volunteers or independent contractors for the school district.
5. “Finalist” means an individual who is selected to be interviewed by the school board for a position.
6. “Public officials” means business managers; human resource directors, athletic directors whose duties include at least 50 per cent of their time spent in administration, personnel, supervision, and evaluation; chief financial officers; directors; and individuals defined as superintendents and principals.

IV. PUBLIC PERSONNEL DATA

1. The following information on current and former employees, volunteers and independent contractors, is public:
   1. Personal information

• name
• education and training background
• previous work experience
  
  2. Compensation-related information
   
• actual gross salary
• salary range
• actual gross pension
• value and nature of employer paid fringe benefits
• the basis for and the amount of any added remuneration, including expense reimbursement, in addition to salary
• payroll time sheets or other comparable data that are only used to account for the employees work time for payroll purposes, except to the extent that release of time sheets would reveal the employee’s reasons for use of sick or other medical leave or other non-public data.
  
  3. Work and performance information
   
• job title and bargaining unit
• employee identification number which may not be the employee’s social security number
• job description
• date of first and last employment
• work location
• work telephone number
• work email addresses
• honors and awards received
• existence and status of any complaints or charges against the employee, regardless of whether the complaint or charge resulted in disciplinary action
• the final disposition of any disciplinary action together with the specific reasons for the action and data documenting the basis of the action, excluding data that would identify confidential sources who are employees of the school district.
• Special rule where employee is also a public official as defined by Minnesota Statutes. Minn. Stat. § 13.43, Subd. 2(e) Data relating to a complaint or charge against a public official is public only if: (1) the complaint or charge results in disciplinary action or the employee resigns or is terminated from employment while the complaint or charge is pending; or (2) potential legal claims arising out of the conduct that is the subject of the complaint or charge are released as part of a settlement agreement. Data that is classified as private under another law is not made public by this provision. For purposes of this paragraph, "public official" means: business managers; human resource directors; athletic directors whose duties include at least 50 percent of their time spent in administration, personnel, supervision, and evaluation; chief financial officers; directors; individuals defined as superintendents and principals under Minnesota Rules.
• the terms of any agreement settling any dispute arising out of the employment relationship
  
  4. Applicants for Employment
  With respect to employment applicants, the following information is public information:
   
• the names of “finalists” are public; a finalist is one who has been selected to be interviewed for the opening
• veterans status
• relevant test scores
• rank on eligible list
• job history
• education and training
• work availability

B. Personnel data must be disseminated to labor organizations to the extent necessary to conduct elections, investigate and process grievances, and implement the provisions of Minnesota Statutes chapters 179 and 179A. Personnel data shall be disseminated to labor organizations and the Bureau of Mediation Services (“BMS”) to the extent dissemination is ordered or authorized by the Commissioner of BMS. Employee social security numbers are not necessary to implement the provisions of Chapter 179 or 179A.

The home addresses, nonemployer issued phone numbers and email addresses, dates of birth, and emails or other communications between exclusive representatives and their members, prospective members, and nonmembers are private data on individuals.

Personnel data described under Minnesota Statutes, section 179A.07, subdivision 8, must be disseminated to an exclusive representative under the terms of that subdivision.

V. PRIVATE PERSONNEL DATA

1. All other personnel data is private and will only be shared with school district staff whose work requires such access. Private data will not be otherwise released unless authorized by law or by the employee's informed written consent.
2. Data pertaining to an employee’s dependents are private data on individuals.
3. Data created, collected or maintained by the school district to administer employee assistance programs are private.
4. An individual’s checking account number is private when submitted to a government entity.
5. Personnel data may be disseminated to labor organizations consistent with Section IV.B above.
6. The school district may display a photograph of a current or former employee to prospective witnesses as part of the school district’s investigation of any complaint or charge against the employee.
7. The school district may, if the responsible authority or designee reasonably determines that the release of personnel data is necessary to protect an employee from harm to self or to protect another person who may be harmed by the employee, release data that are relevant to the concerns for safety to:
   1. The person who may be harmed and to the attorney representing the person when the data are relevant to obtaining a restraining order;
   2. A pre-petition screening team conducting an investigation of the employee under Minn. Stat. § 253B.07, Subd. 1; or
   3. A court, law enforcement agency or prosecuting authority.
8. Private personnel data or confidential investigative data on employees may be disseminated to a law enforcement agency for the purpose of reporting a crime or alleged crime committed by an employee, or for the purpose of assisting law enforcement in the investigation of such a crime or alleged crime.
9. A complainant has access to a statement provided by the complainant to the school district in connection with a complaint or charge against an employee.
10. Unless otherwise required by state or federal law, when allegations of sexual or other types of harassment are made against an employee, the employee shall not have access to data that would identify the complainant or other witnesses if the school district determines that the employee’s access to that data would:
    1. threaten the personal safety of the complainant or a witness; or
    2. subject the complainant or witness to harassment.
       
       If a disciplinary proceeding is initiated against the employee, data on the complainant or witness shall be available to the employee as may be necessary for the employee to prepare for the proceeding.
        
11. The school district shall make any report to the board of teaching as required by Minn. Stat. § 122A.20, subd. 2 and shall, upon written request from the licensing board having jurisdiction over a teacher’s license, provide the licensing board with information about the teacher from the school district’s files, any termination or disciplinary proceeding, and settlement or compromise, or any investigative file in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 122A.20, subd. 2.
12. Private personnel data shall be disclosed to the department of economic security for the purpose of administration of the unemployment insurance program under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 268.
13. When a report of alleged maltreatment of a student in a school is made to the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, data that are relevant and collected by the school about the person alleged to have committed maltreatment must be provided to the Commissioner on request for purposes of an assessment or investigation of the maltreatment report. Additionally, personnel data may be released for purposes of informing a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child that an incident has occurred that may constitute maltreatment of the child, when the incident occurred, and the nature of the conduct that may constitute maltreatment.
14. Health information on employees is private unless otherwise provided by law. To the extent that the school district transmits protected health information, the school district will comply with all privacy requirements.
15. The school district shall release to a requesting school district or charter school private personnel data on a current or former employee related to acts of violence toward or sexual contact with a student, if an investigation conducted by or on behalf of the school district or law enforcement affirmed the allegations in writing prior to release and the investigation resulted in the resignation of the subject of the data; or the employee resigned while a complaint or charge involving the allegations was pending, the allegations involved acts of sexual contact with a student, and the employer informed the employee in writing, before the employee resigned, that if the employee resigns while the complaint or charge is still pending, the employer must release private personnel data about the employee’s alleged sexual contact with a student to a school district or charter school requesting the data after the employee applies for employment with that school district or charter school and the data remain classified as provided in Minn. Stat. Ch. 13. Data that are released under this paragraph must not include data on the student.
16. The identity of an employee making a suggestion as part of an organized self-evaluation effort by the school district to cut costs, make the school district more efficient, or to improve school district operations is private.
17. When a teacher is discharged immediately because the teacher’s license has been revoked due to a conviction for child abuse or sexual abuse or when the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) makes a final determination of child maltreatment involving a teacher, the school principal or other person having administrative control of the school must include in the teacher’s employment record the information contained in the record of the disciplinary action or the final maltreatment determination, consistent with the definition of public data under Minn. Stat. § 13.41, Subd. 5, and must provide the Board of Teaching and the licensing division at MDE with the necessary and relevant information to enable the Board of Teaching and MDE’s licensing division to fulfill their statutory and administrative duties related to issuing, renewing, suspending, or revoking a teacher’s license. In addition to the background check required under Minn. Stat. § 123B.03, a school board or other school hiring authority must contact the Board of Teaching and MDE to determine whether the teacher’s license has been suspended or revoked, consistent with the discharge and final maltreatment determinations. Unless restricted by federal or state data practices law or by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, the responsible authority for a school district must disseminate to another school district private personnel data on a current or former teacher (employee or contractor) of the district, including the results of background investigations, if the requesting school district seeks the information because the subject of the data has applied for employment with the requesting school district.

VI. MULTIPLE CLASSIFICATIONS

If data on individuals is classified as both private and confidential by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, or any other state or federal law, the data is private.

VII. CHANGE IN CLASSIFICATIONS

The classification of data in the possession of the school district shall change if it is required to do so to comply with other judicial or administrative rules pertaining to the conduct of legal actions or with a specific statute applicable to the data in the possession of the disseminating or receiving agency.

VIII. RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITY

The Superintendent is the responsible authority for the school district for carrying out the duties and responsibilities of government data as required by federal and/or state law. By written appointment orders, the Superintendent may delegate responsibilities to designees who are employed by the school district.

IX. EMPLOYEE AUTHORIZATION/RELEASE FORM

An employee authorization form is included as an addendum to this policy. See 406.0F