Section 1.
- Contents. The OPF shall contain only those records permitted by the Office of Personnel Management. Performance appraisal records are not part of the OPF and are maintained separately (see Section 4). No derogatory material of any nature which might reflect adversely upon the employee’s character or government career will be placed in his or her OPF by the Library without the employee seeing and having the opportunity to initial the material, and receiving a copy thereof. Written records of oral warnings or admonishment shall not be kept in the OPF. Written reprimands may be kept in the OPF for up to one year unless the Director of Human Resources Services (“HRS”) determines in his or her discretion that for sufficient reasons a longer retention period is necessary, in which event the Director of HRS shall notify the employee in writing, giving the reason.
- Confidentiality. No record or document in an employee’s OPF will be made available to any unauthorized person for inspection, review, printing, copying or photo duplication. The OPF may be reviewed by, or used to furnish information to, officials and employees of the Library, the Office of Personnel Management and other Government agencies, including law enforcement agencies, who have a need for the information in the OPF in the performance of their official duties. A record of all viewing activity, including the viewer’s name, the date and time of access and the reasons for inspection will be available to the employee and/or the employee’s representative upon request.
- Review by Employees and Representatives. Except where it is contrary to law to which the Library is subject, each employee or a representative designated in writing, has the right, upon request, to review and to print any document in his or her OPF. Portions of PARs which discuss third parties shall be excluded. An employee or his or her representative may view and print records form his/her OPF via the Internet at any time, from any computer that has Internet access. HRS will maintain certain designated hours during the core time of each working day during which employees or their representatives may use an HRS computer to review and to print documents from their OPFs upon request. HRS may, if circumstances so dictate, require the employee or his or her representative to make an appointment.
- Updating and Removal of Material from OPFs. Within the guidelines provided by the Guide to Personnel Record Keeping, employees have the right to update their OPFs as to relevant experience and/or education which might enhance their career; however, records of individual training courses are not kept in the OPF (see Section 3 below). Material not required or authorized by law, regulation or the Collective Bargaining Agreement shall be removed promptly at the request of the employee. The Library shall have the burden of showing why such material should not be removed. Such material, after removal from the OPF, may be filed in the appeal, grievance, or equal employment opportunity complaint file as required by law or higher authority.
- Use of Records for Disciplinary or Adverse Action. Any record in the OPF which has not been disclosed to the employee cannot be used as a basis for a disciplinary or adverse action. Records of complaints and charges determined to be unfounded may be placed in the OPF as a required record or if necessary to document employee entitlements to back pay or other benefits. Such complaints and charges will not, under any circumstances, be considered a factor in connection with any disciplinary action, promotion or the like.
Section 2. Worksite Files
- Contents. The Library is authorized to establish and maintain employee worksite records for its use. These employee files are intended as a source of information relating to: emergency addresses, personnel actions, record copies of personnel actions, production records, attendance, job performance, training, discipline, awards, and other information which may be pertinent for supervisory use.
- Confidentiality. No record or document in an employee’s worksite file will be made available to any unauthorized person for inspection, review, printing, copy or photo duplication. Such information will be made available to authorized persons only for official use. Except for review for work related needs by managers/supervisors within the Division or Office, and reviews by law enforcement agencies, the Library will maintain a record in the worksite file of all other individuals who have reviewed the worksite file, indicating the name, organization, and date of review.
- Review by Employees and Representatives. Except where it is contrary to law to which the Library is subject, each employee or a representative designated in writing, has the right, upon request, to review and have copied any document in his or her worksite file. Portions of PARs which discuss third parties shall be excluded. The Library shall make reasonable efforts to provide copies upon request or normally within 24 hours. Prior to the transfer of an employee to another Division or Office within the Service, the employee shall be given an opportunity to review the worksite file to determine if the contents are in compliance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Updating of Material in Worksite Files. Employees may update their worksite files with relevant information regarding experience, education, training, letters of commendation, etc.
- Employee Statements in Response to Unfavorable Information. Employees are to be afforded the opportunity to put on record in their worksite files any statement in response to information they consider unfavorable to them which is filed in their OPFs or worksite files. The rebuttal may express, in a responsible manner, relevant concerns the employee may have regarding the unfavorable material. The filing of a rebuttal in and of itself shall not be the basis for a disciplinary action.
- Retention Periods. Memos or letters of admonishment or warning are not to be kept in the worksite file longer than one year unless the Director of CRS determines in his or her discretion that for sufficient reasons a longer retention period is necessary, in which event the Director of CRS shall notify the employee, giving the reason. Duplicate copies of written reprimands are not to be kept in the worksite file longer than one year unless the Director of HRS has notified the employee that a longer retention period of the written reprimand in the OPF is necessary, in which event a copy may be kept in the worksite file as long as the written warning is retained in the OPF. Management officials may remove written warnings, or memos or letters of admonishment, warning, and/or reprimand before one year when in their judgment no further purpose is served by retention. All documents in a worksite file will be destroyed one year after separation or transfer of an employee out of the Service. All documents in a worksite file will be transferred with the employee if he or she changes Divisions or Offices within the Service.
- Use of Documents for Warnings or Disciplinary Action. No document in the worksite file containing derogatory information about an employee may be used as a basis for a warning or disciplinary action without providing a copy of same to the employee.
- Files and Records Related to Proposed Adverse Actions. When a supervisor has determined that there is just cause for recommending an adverse action against an employee, and establishes a separate, individual file or record of evidence of the employee’s conduct or performance to be used as a basis for the action, the employee will be given a copy of any part of the record relied upon to support the charges and proposed action at the time such action is proposed. The employee will be given an opportunity to respond to the charges before any final action is taken. These records should be destroyed per the Library of Congress Records Schedules. Employees are to be afforded the opportunity to put on record any statement (consistent with OPMs Guide to Personnel Record Keeping or other applicable requirements) in response to information they consider unfavorable to them which is filed in the Official Personnel Folder or in work site files.
Section 3.
- CRS Workforce Development Office (“WRK”) Training Records. Some employee training records are maintained in CRS Workforce Development Office (“WRK”) databases. Employees and their representatives shall upon request receive records of their training from WRK, normally within 24 hours. Staff who want to keep records of training that is not recorded in WRK or Online Learning Center (“OLC”) databases (see Section 3.B. below) may place paper records in their worksite files.
- Employee Training Records in the Online Learning Center (“OLC”). Official employee training records are maintained in the Library of Congress’ web-based learning management system, the OLC. Employees and their representatives can view their training records via the Internet at any time, from any computer that has Internet access. The OLC will provide an option for employees to submit corrections to training data, and/or missing historical training data, for inclusion in their official employee training records.
Section 4.
HRS maintains the official employee performance appraisal records in files separate from the OPF. Copies may be maintained in worksite files (see Section 2). Except for reviews by employees of HRS and law enforcement agencies, the Library will maintain a record of all other individuals who have reviewed performance appraisal records, indicating the name, organization and date of review. This record will be available to the employee and his or her representative.
Section 5.
Medical information about an employee kept in the Health Services medical or administrative files shall be disclosed to that employee or a representative designated in writing. Medical information concerning a mental or other condition of such nature that a prudent physician would hesitate to inform a person suffering from it of its exact nature and probable outcome may only be disclosed to a licensed physician or to other appropriate individuals who have been designated in writing for that purpose by the person or his/her designated representative.