FOR HUMAN RESOURCES

1. / When a Covenant Health employee is being considered for a new position, is it acceptable for the current supervisor to share information about this employee with the potential new supervisor (e.g. salary or attendance)?
  • If the potential new place of work is outside Covenant Health, then this information can only be shared if the employee in question has consented in writing or when the current supervisor’s name has been given by the employee as a reference. Before releasing information the current supervisor should ask for confirmation that consent was given by the employee.[1]
  • If the employee is looking to transfer within Covenant Health, then information such as salary, attendance, or performance may be shared internally without consent. However, it is recommended that you get consent prior to sharing sensitive personal information (e.g. medical information, criminal history, religious or political beliefs).[2] Any information about the employee collected and used to make a decision about the employee must be retained for at least one year to allow the employee an opportunity to obtain access to it.[3]

2. / How should requestsfrom law enforcement agencies, such as a municipal police service or the RCMP, be managed when information about an employee is requested for the purpose of an investigation?
  • Any request for disclosure of an employee’s personal information should be made in writing and describe the employee’s name, exact nature of the information being requested, the legal authority for the investigation, the purpose for which the information will be used, the name, title and address of the person authorized to make the request, and the file number of the investigation or law enforcement proceeding.
  • To meet this requirement a Request for Disclosure to Law Enforcement form may be used. This form will be posted on the Information and Privacy home page on CompassionNet
  • To verify the identity of the requestor, staff may ask the individual to provide his/her badge number.
  • Following review of the written request, if it is determined that the information is required to assist with a law enforcement proceeding that can result in a penalty or sanction under a statute, then the information may be disclosed.[4] (NB. Disclosure is discretionary, not mandatory)
  • Only the least amount of information should be disclosed to meet the purpose.
  • A copy of the written request should be retained along with a notation describing the information that was disclosed.
Note: A variety of requests from law enforcement may be received that do not relate to law enforcement proceedings or investigations. Requests made by way of court order, subpoena, or those authorized by another enactment of Alberta or Canada may need to be handled in a manner different than the process described above. Consultation with Information and Privacy, Protective Services or Legal Counsel may be required when dealing with these other types of requests.
3. / How can I protect confidential information when emailing it to third parties?
  • Only send confidential personal information by email when you have a job related purpose to disclose the informationand send the least amount of information required to meet the purpose.
  • Any message containing confidential personal information sent to a recipient whose email address is NOT with Covenant Health, Alberta Health Services, or the Government of Alberta must be encrypted using the AHS I.T. encryption tool. Instructions for encrypting an email are found on AHS’ Insite at An instruction sheet titled “Instructions – Sending Encrypted Emails” is also available on CompassionNet under Information and Privacy> How Do I?> Use Encrypted Email at .
  • The recipient of the email should be informed that they will receive a private post message and that they will have to take steps to unencrypt the message to read it. To assist the recipient, an instruction sheet titled “Instructions – Receiving Encrypted Emails” may be sent to the individual. The instruction sheet can be found on CompassionNet under Information and Privacy> How Do I?> Use Encrypted Email at .
  • It is recommended that a test email be sent to the individual to ensure that the address provided is correct. This email provides a good opportunity to send the instruction sheet referred to above.

Questions:
Phone Information and Privacy at 1-866-254-8181 or email

April 1, 2014

[1]Pg 22, FOIP Human Resources Guide for Local Public Bodes, Rev Jan 2007

[2]Pgs 20 to 23, FOIP Human Resources Guide for Local Public Bodes, Rev Jan 2007

[3]Pgs 2 and 22, FOIP Human Resources Guide for Local Public Bodes, Rev Jan 2007

[4]Pg 282, FOIP Guidelines and Practices (2009)