Introduction

The protection of personal information is important to Merit and we have policies and procedures dealing with the protection of privacy. Please direct any questions about this policy to our Privacy Officer at 780-455-5999 or 1-888-816-9991 or email to Privacy Officer.

Our employees play an important role in protecting personal information and are required to adhere to this policy and take all reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is protected from unauthorized access.

Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

As Merit members are business entities, Merit does not generally collect and retain personal information from individuals (other than business contact information). We do, however, collect or obtain access to personal contact and employment information for the following:

1. MeritTalk Newsletter/First Eligibility Packages: Merit temporarily obtains employee contact information in the form of names and addresses (address labeling information) from the Merit Benefit Plan Administrators (Mercon Benefit Services) to coordinate the distribution of First Eligibility program materials and the MeritTalk Newsletter. Neither Merit nor its designated mailing house retain this information or distribute it to any other third party.
2. Employee Surveys: Merit may temporarily obtain a small sample of employee names and addresses from the Merit Benefit Plan Administrators (Mercon Benefits Services) so that it, or its agents, may conduct voluntary quality control surveys by telephone. This contact information is not distributed to any other third party. Information obtained during the survey is kept strictly confidential so as to preserve individual respondent anonymity.
3. Tuition Refund Program: Personal contact, employment, and apprenticeship related information contained or accompanying an application for tuition fee reimbursement is securely stored and is not made available to any third party. To evaluate eligibility for reimbursement for Tuition fees paid to an educational institute for Apprenticeship training, Merit staff may temporarily access personal employment information held by the Merit Benefit Plan Administrators (Mercon Benefits Services) or contact an employer of record to verify employment hours.
4. Web Site: Merit does not use cookies or collect any personal information relating to visits to our website. Business contact information is not protected by this policy. This type of information is not considered to be personal information and may be collected, used and disclosed without consent. Nonetheless, it is Merit’s policy to restrict access to this information and as a general rule, member firms may opt-in or opt-out of having this information disclosed to the general public.

Storing Your Personal Information

We only keep personal information for as long as is necessary for the purposes outlined above. We are also required by law to maintain certain records (such as tuition refund related documentation) for set amounts of time. We have appropriate safeguards in place to protect personal information and when we no longer need the information it is destroyed. We try to keep personal information as accurate as possible and we encourage our various clients to provide us with updated information when necessary. Information can be updated by contacting the respective staff member responsible for the program or alternatively Merit’s Privacy Officer.

Access

All clients have the right to access the personal information we hold about them. Clients may request access to their personal information by contacting the respective program officer or by making a formal written request to our Privacy Officer. The Officer will provide assistance and outline any necessary forms or procedures that may be required in order to obtain the information. If a client believes that some of the personal information is incorrect he or she can request that the information be corrected. We may charge for out-of-pocket expenses in responding to an access request. If we decide that a charge is appropriate we will provide a written estimate prior to providing access. Any concerns with the estimated charge should be directed to our Privacy Officer.

Accountability

We apply our best efforts to protect the privacy of our clients. Any concerns should be directed to our Privacy Officer whom we anticipate will be able to resolve any problems. If concerns are not resolved, the Officer will provide information on making a formal complaint.