Lawyers Flag New Illinois Privacy Requirements for Employers

IPPRA governs how employees may look at documents used for determining their qualifications for employment or other decisions. The changes “expand the types of personnel documents that employees can inspect and require employers to obtain a signed waiver before releasing medical information to an employee’s designated representative,” the lawyers wrote. The amended law allows employees to file civil actions if the state labor department fails to resolve complaints within 180 days.

Moreover, “employees may also inspect documents related to their qualifications for benefits; their binding employment-related agreements; employee handbooks that they had access to or for which they acknowledged receipt; and any written policies that apply to them and concern qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action,” the lawyers said. “Certain documents are expressly excluded from inspection, including, for example, the employer’s trade secrets, client lists, sales projections, and financial data.”