Privacy Policy

Introduction

The State Personnel Board (SPB) is committed to protecting your privacy rights as individuals. Our commitment to protecting your personal information underscores our respect for your privacy rights and confidentiality. SPB’s policy limits the collection, utilization, and disclosure of personal information maintained by SPB, as well as implements safeguards to ensure its protection and confidentiality, all while striving to ensure transparency and trust in our practices. SPB’s information management and privacy practices are governed by State and Federal laws such as:

Information We Collect

SPB collects personal information as allowed by law to carry out our duties under Article VII of the California Constitution, Government Code section 18500 and following, and applicable regulations contained in Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Managing the State civil service merit system
  • Investigating and adjudicating employment-related complaints
  • Conducting disciplinary, examination, and employment appeals

The information we collect—such as your name, contact details, employment history, and civil service records is necessary to fairly evaluate cases and make decisions. Without it, SPB may not be able to fulfill its responsibilities.

Only the information requested should be provided. We do not request or use personal information beyond what is legally authorized.

What We Do With Your Information

We use personal information only for the purpose it was collected or as allowed by law. When we request personal information, we specify what it will be used for and under what legal authority we’re requesting it. We will specify the purpose for the request at, or prior to the time of collection in a privacy notice included on the form used to collect personal information.

We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties, except:

  • As authorized by law or regulation
  • With your consent
  • To other state agencies involved in your case

Safeguarding Your Personal Information

We collect and maintain our electronic and paper files in a manner that protects against loss or unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure. We use security technologies to protect all forms of your information on our website from unauthorized viewing or corruption, by either internal or external sources. Moreover, we educate our employees on the importance of protecting your privacy and personal information, and by limiting access to only those employees who have a business need to use your information.

Our website may conveniently provide links to other websites, primarily other departments within the State of California.

Website Analytics and Performance Tools

SPB uses both Google Analytics and Dynatrace to better understand how visitors use our website and to keep the site running smoothly. Google Analytics shows us which webpages are visited most often and how people move through the webpages, which helps us improve content and make the website easier to use. Dynatrace helps us to detect and fix issues such as slow-loading webpages, broken links, or errors behind the scenes that could affect your experience. Neither of these tools collect any personal information. All the data is summarized and used only to improve our website’s performance and user experience.

If you don’t want Google Analytics to collect any data, you can install their opt-out browser add-on. To opt-out from Dynatrace, go to your browser’s Settings > Preferences > Data Privacy > General.

Retention of Information

We keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill our business needs in conjunction with the records retention schedule by the Secretary of State unless we are required to keep it longer by statute or official policy.

Access to Your Personal Information

You have the right to access your records containing your personal information maintained by SPB. To request access to your records, report inaccuracies, provide comments, or file complaints related to your privacy rights, please contact SPB’s Privacy Officer via:

Mail:
State Personnel Boar
Attn: Privacy Officer
1515 S Street, Suite 500N
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone:
(916) 909-2807
Email:
Privacy.Officer@calhr.ca.gov

The Privacy Officer is responsible for the overall implementation and enforcement of this privacy policy. SPB may revise our privacy policy and when we do, we will prominently post any revision on our website 30 days before implementation.

Note: The Department of Human Resources (CalHR) manages privacy related matters for SPB.

What To Expect When Requesting Your Personal Information

Per the Information Practices Act, SPB has 30 days to complete your request (60 days if the records are inactive), but we will do our best to provide you with the records we maintain in our system as quickly as possible. If we are unable to provide you with your records, we will provide a valid reason why we are unable to do so. We may charge you ten cents per page if you request paper copies.

Prior to releasing your personal information, you will be required to show two valid forms of photo identification (e.g., driver's license, passport, etc.) during a video call to verify your identity. To protect your identity, please do not send your photo identification in advance. It is a misdemeanor to request personal information from a State agency under false pretenses, resulting in a fine up to $5,000 and/or one year in jail (Civil Code section 1798.56).

For more information about your right to inspect records containing your personal information, refer to Civil Code section 1798 and following.

Effective Date: 9/1/2015
Last Reviewed: 7/11/2025
Last Updated: 7/11/2025

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