Nov 27, 2007 7:42 pm US/Central
Red Cross Employees Find Personal Files In Public
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Employees at a Red Cross office in North Dallas say they're livid after boxes of files containing personal and embarrassing information were dumped in a public hallway.
The boxes were marked for trash pick up. When Red Cross employees discovered the contents inside, concern turned to anger.
"I was very angry but not surprised, simply because our employee and personal information has been in jeopardy in the past," said a current Red Cross employee.
The employee did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.
One former employee said they literally grabbed their file and took it home. "The files are sitting in a hallway, waiting for the cleaning crew to place them in a dumpster. If I don't take it, somebody else is going to take it," the former employee said.
Employees say six boxes were left unattended in a public hallway for more than six hours. The files contained personal information of current and former employees and were placed there by human resources.
"It is not standard practice," said Audrey Lundy, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross. "We do have standard operating procedures. Apparently, these documents and boxes were not handled appropriately."
Names, addresses and social security numbers could have easily been stolen. The files also contained embarrassing information, including disciplinary actions, results from a drug test, a sexual harassment case; even someone's criminal record from another state.
"It's not acceptable, period," said Lundy.
The Red Cross' record retention policy states that employee records must be kept on file at least six years after an employee has left. After that, the records must be shredded or incinerated.
The Red Cross said its blood services office is in the process of moving, but that's still no excuse.
"We're taking it very seriously, and we will be dealing with it," said Lundy.
The Red Cross said the files have been secured and will not be thrown in the trash.
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