Prior to Jan. 1, 2025
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Beginning Jan. 1, 2025
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Upon an employee's request, which the employer may require be in writing on a form supplied by the employer, the employer must permit the employee to inspect any personnel documents that are, have been or are intended to be used in determining the employee's qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge, or other disciplinary action.
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Upon requestin writingto their employer, every employee has a right to inspect, copy, and receive copies of the following documents:
- Any personnel documents which are, have been or are intended to be used in determining that employee's qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation,benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action;
- Anyemployment-related contracts or agreementsthat the employer maintains are legally binding on the employee;
- Anyemployee handbooksthat the employer made available to the employee or that the employee acknowledged receiving; and
- Anywritten employer policies or proceduresthat the employer contends the employee was subject to and that concern qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action.
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The employer must grant at least two inspection requests in a calendar year when such requests are made at reasonable intervals, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement.
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The employer, upon an employee'swritten request, must grant at least two requests in a calendar yearto inspect, copy, and receive copies of recordsto which that employee has a right under the law.
Requests must be made at reasonable intervals, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement; and be made to a person responsible for maintaining the employer's personnel records, including the employer's human resources department, payroll department, the employee's supervisor or department manager, or to an individual as provided in the employer's written policy.
The written request must:
- Identify what personnel records the employee is requesting or if the employee is requesting all of the records allowed to be requested.
- Specify if the employee is requesting to inspect, copy, or receive copies of the records.
- Specify whether records need to be provided in hardcopy or in a reasonable and commercially available electronic format.
- Specify whether inspection, copying, or receipt of copies will be performed by that employee's representative, including family members, lawyers, union stewards, other union officials, or translators; and
- If the records being requested include medical information and medical records, include a signed waiver to release medical information and medical records to that employee's specific representative.
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The employer must, upon the employee's written request, email or mail a copy of the requested record to the employee by the email address or mailing address identified by the employee for the purpose of receiving the copy of requested record.
An employer may charge a fee for providing a copy of the requested record. The fee must be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the requested record.
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The employer must, upon the employee's written request, email or mail a copy of the requested record to the employee by the email address or mailing address identified by the employee for the purpose of receiving the copy of requested record. An employer may charge a fee for providing a copy of the requested record. The fee must be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the requested record.
The new law also makes clear that thefeemay not include the imputed costsof time spent duplicating the information, the purchase or rental of copying machines, the purchase or rental of computer equipment, the purchase, rental, or licensing of software, or any other similar expenses.
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The right of the employee to inspect their personnel records doesn’t apply to:
- Letters of reference for that employee or external peer review documents for academic employees of institutions of higher education.
- Any portion of a test document, except that the employee may see a cumulative total test score for either a section of or the entire test document.
- Materials relating to the employer's staff planning, such as matters relating to the business' development, expansion, closing or operational goals, where the materials relate to or affect more than one employee, provided, however, that this exception does not apply if such materials are, have been or are intended to be used by the employer in determining an individual employee's qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, or additional compensation, or in determining an individual employee's discharge or discipline.
- Information of a personal nature about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person's privacy.
- An employer who doesn’t maintain any personnel records.
- Records relevant to any other pending claim between the employer and employee which may be discovered in a judicial proceeding.
- Investigatory or security records maintained by an employer to investigate criminal conduct by an employee or other activity by the employee which could reasonably be expected to harm the employer's property, operations, or business or could by the employee's activity cause the employer financial liability, unless and until the employer takes adverse personnel action based on information in such records.
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The right of the employee to inspect their personnel records doesn’t apply to:
- Letters of reference for that employee or external peer review documents for academic employees of institutions of higher education.
- Any portion of a test document, except that the employee may see a cumulative total test score for either a section of or the entire test document.
- Materials relating to the employer's staff planning, such as matters relating to the business' development, expansion, closing or operational goals, where the materials relate to or affect more than one employee, provided, however, that this exception does not apply if such materials are, have been or are intended to be used by the employer in determining an individual employee's qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation,or benefits, or in determining an individual employee's discharge or discipline.
- Information of a personal nature about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person's privacy.
- An employer who doesn’t maintain any personnel records.
- Records relevant to any other pending claim between the employer and employee which may be discovered in a judicial proceeding.
- Investigatory or security records maintained by an employer to investigate criminal conduct by an employee or other activity by the employee which could reasonably be expected to harm the employer's property, operations, or business or could by the employee's activity cause the employer financial liability, unless and until the employer takes adverse personnel action based on information in such records.
- An employer's trade secrets, client lists, sales projections, and financial data.
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