After Employment: Access Termination and HR Records
On departure, employers should terminate access (badges, accounts, devices), recover company data, and forward personal mail while reviewing work mail. HR retains records for legitimate reasons (references, benefits, legal proceedings) balanced against privacy. References risk defamation, but the common-law qualified privilege protects good-faith reports.
- Secure return of badges, keys, smartcards, and other physical-access methods
- Disable computer accounts and recover laptops, smartphones, and storage devices
- Have the employee return or delete company data held outside company systems; remind them of obligations
- Forward clearly marked personal mail; review work mail to prevent leaking proprietary information
- Design IT systems so departures (including contractors and interns) cause minimal disruption - avoid shared passwords
Providing references risks defamation suits, but the common law gives employers a qualified privilege to report their experience in good faith. The common law imposes no duty to give a reference, though some state statutes require them for specific occupations (e.g., airline pilot, public-school teacher).
HR should have consistent retention policies for post-departure records (background checks, contracts, appraisals, medical info), balancing legitimate needs against privacy/security - and in places like the EU, a demonstrable business or legal reason to retain.