Ex-council workers' details appear online
Information about 44 former workers at South Staffordshire District Council were accidentally published online, sparking an investigation.
The information 'was hidden but could be accessed', council chiefs said today.
It is believed the records, published as part of a spreadsheet, were viewed just twice but letters have been sent out to staff affected.
The council today said it had taken steps to make sure it did not happen again and has apologised to those whose details were shared. The matter has also been referred to the Information Commissioner.
David Pattison, director of legal and public health protection at the district council, said the document was taken down as soon as they were notified.
"The information concerned 44 ex-members of staff and was inadvertently published as part of a spreadsheet, stating general figures that we are required to publish under the Equality Act 2010," he said.
"The information was hidden but nevertheless could be accessed. We have investigated how many people could have viewed the information and our records suggest there was only two external views, which we believe that these were both from the same person who reported the issue to us.
"Nevertheless, this should not have happened and we apologise to anyone who may have been affected by this."
He said 'immediate steps' had been taken to make sure it does not happen again.
It is believed information inadvertently published online included names, reason for leaving the authority, ethnic origin and sexual orientation.
