Employment Records

Employee personnel files are repositories for all kinds of information, from background checks and job applications to performance reviews, warnings and other disciplinary write-ups, productivity records, tax forms, pay history, and more. Given how much can end up in a personnel file, it's surprising there aren't more rules on keeping these records private. Generally speaking, however, few laws regulate the privacy of personnel records, except for medical information. 

The law does dictate whether, when, and how often, employees may view their own personnel files, however. You'll find information on those rules -- as well as privacy issues -- in this section.