Human Resource Blog

Confidential Employee information

What are the US laws, and Michigan Laws in regards confidential employment information, like resume, employment application, and all personal files including social security numbers being sent out to a third party without the employee knowing that the information was sent? Is there any confidential privileged information laws for this?

Surprisingly enough, resumes and applications are not usually considered confidential documents. Under federal laws including HIPAA and ADA, employers must keep any medical information confidential – even from managers and supervisors within the company who have no legitimate reason to access this information. However, there is no federal law that prohibits an employer from sharing your resume with others – even though it’s very unusual for a company to do so. Most employers would not do this without your permission and you should raise this issue with them.

 

Employers are also restricted in how they can use credit reports and other employee financial information.

 

A few states such as Texas have privacy laws that specifically prohibit the employer from sharing an employee’s social security number with any third party, under any circumstances. We were not able to locate such a law for

Michigan. To be sure, you may want to double check with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.