Privacy Law: How private is private?

12/31/03

Question: Question: Senior managers have asked us to make an “Emergency Hurricane List” for distribution to managers and supervisors. The list would contain the names of employees and include address, cell phone numbers, home phone numbers (even if they are unlisted), and emergency contact person with his or her phone number. The purpose of the list is for when we need to contact employees or their families in the event of a hurricane. Is it legal or even appropriate for us to compile and distribute such a list? I would not want to release this information to management unless it is legal. By the way, at the bottom of our new-hire information form, it says, “I hereby authorize the company to release the above information to authorized personnel in the case of an emergency.” Answer: Generally, it is OK to dispense private information of this nature as long as:

You have secured a signed release from each employee (which you have done).

The information is released only to those who “need to know.” This might include, for example, an employee’s supervisor, and/or the general manager of the company. Remind managers that the information is strictly confidential and reinforce the message by printing “Confidential” at the top of the list.

You give out necessary information only. For example, do the managers really need to have employee addresses?

Bottom line: Your instincts are good—do your utmost to safeguard employee information and protect employees’ privacy. The following item, by the way, can help you keep employee information handy and all in one location:
Confidential Employee Record