In 2007, a U.S. District Court judge in California had enjoined the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from enforcing new rules that changed the language of the no-match letters issued by the Social Security Administration and the requirements for how employers must respond to the letters. DHS announced that its final no-match rule was taking effect Oct. 28, 2008.

Q. We're cleaning up our personnel files and updating emergency contact information. Some employees don't want to provide their contact information. Is it legal for us to require them to give it to us?

U.S. employers must begin using a revised version of the I-9 Form starting Feb. 2. Employers that use the current edition of the I-9 (dated 06/05/2007) after Feb. 2 may be subject to fines.

No federal or state law requires employers to use job applications. But if you do require applicants to fill them out, know the legal do’s and don’ts of what questions to ask. Here's the topic-by-topic guidance you need, along with relevant records-retention rules.

Encouraged by a victory in Polk County Circuit Court, Lakeland resident and public-records gadfly Joel Chandler submitted public records requests to the state’s 67 school districts demanding the names, addresses, ages and telephone numbers of every person covered by the districts’ health insurance plans.

When Medical Mutual Insurance of Ohio learned that 11 computer disks mailed to state retirement groups in Columbus had not arrived, the insurer contacted the U.S. Postal Service. There was reason for concern: The disks contained personal information on 36,000 Ohio retirees.

Sinclair Community College in Dayton recently discovered that it had posted the names and Social Security numbers of almost 1,000 employees on a public web site for a year.

Q. How long do I have to keep employees’ personnel files after their terminations?

You may not realize it, but your organization may be contributing to identity theft by failing to safeguard personal information such as employees’ names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers. Any one of those breaches could violate the North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act.

One of the best ways to win lawsuits at the earliest stages is to have ready a treasure trove of documents showing your decision about an employee was fair, impartial and reasonable. For example, for employees with absenteeism problems, document every absence.

Q. A former employee has contacted our HR manager demanding a copy of her personnel file. Must we make this available?

Both the ADA and the FMLA have strict requirements for how employers must handle employees’ confidential medical information. HR professionals need to know these rules to comply with both acts—and to avoid expensive legal liability for failing to do so.

Q. May an employer provide an employee’s medical information to a collection company?

Both the ADA and the FMLA have strict requirements for how employers must handle employee’s confidential medical information. HR professionals must know these rules to comply with both laws—and to avoid expensive legal liability for failing to do so. Here are the details you need.

Sometimes, it seems employees and their lawyers can take even the most benign evidence and find a way to twist it into a discrimination case — even something as innocent as including photographs of applicants and employees in personnel files.