Fired

What is the name of your state? Texas

I have always heard that a company is obligated to give a copy of your personnel file to you, if requested. Therefore, I requested it from HR & was told they would have to find out if they could & call back. They called back to say they could not give me anything from my file-that it's company policy. I called a local attorney from the phone book that advertises specialty in employment issues to
verify if this is legal. A legal asst returned my call to say she didn't know & recommended that I call the unemployment office & that they would know the answer. I called them and they said they only deal with UI and didn't know the answer. I'm getting nowhere fast. Thought this would be a simple yes or no answer. If these people "don't know", who does?

It is a simple yes or no answer. Sort of.

It is based on state law. In Texas, if you are a government worker you are entitled to all the information in your file. If you are a teacher, you are entitled to a copy of all evaluations placed in your file, and you may write a rebuttal to anything you disagree with. If you are a firefighter or police officer, you are entitled to be notified if anything negative is placed in your file, to be given a copy upon request, and to file a written response.

If you are anyone else, then it's entirely up to the company whether they want to show you your file (let alone give you a copy) or not.

There are states where they are required to give you a copy of your file upon request but with the limited exceptions above, Texas is not one of them.

Thank you for your reply. My occupation was not listed in your reply. If some states require it, does it matter that the home base of the company is in Richmond, Va. or do companies only have to follow the laws of the state in which the employee worked?

It goes by the state in which you are employed. Nor would it matter; VA only requires that public employees be given access. If you are a private employee, VA law wouldn't force them to give you access either.

Thanks, again. Can't help wondering why the differentiation? Why do states specify that some employees are entitled and some are not? If your personnel file is all about YOU, why would they be allowed to keep it from you? Seems to be very onesided.
Companies can fire you for no reason or using disguised reasons, which you know from working on the inside but could never prove and if the company were being honest why would they want to keep your file from you? It just seems logical if they were required to give you a copy it would keep things more honest & above board for everyone. I'm not trying to argue the point, just
trying to understand the logic behind it.

Some states agree with you, and obviously those are the states in which employees have legal access.

Other states have taken the position that the file is company property, and the company has the right to decide who they want to give access to and who they don't.

Personally, I agree with allowing the employee to see the file. I'm in a state where allowing employee access is mandatory, but I'd allow it even if it wasn't.

However, I do not write the laws, particularly in other states, and if the legislature takes the position that the file belongs to the company and only the company can decide who gets to see it, then that's what we're stuck with.

BTW, just because a company isn't legally mandated to show the file, doesn't mean they'll decide against it.

One more BTW. In some states, although an employee has access to the file, certain forms are off limits. For example, some states will allow the employee access to everything in their file EXCEPT references from past employers. This is because so few employers are willing to give full references that they want to encourage it by keeping them private.

My state is also one of those that requires an employer to allow an employee to view their personnel file upon request and with adequate notice. The reg expressly excludes access to references and any documentation on things that have not yet happen - for example, any memorandi that speculates on an employee's fit for future assignments or promotions (if such documents even exist.)

Like cbg though, I would allow access even if not required. What's typically in an employee's personnel file is pretty mundane stuff - pay adjustments, address changes, performance appraisals, disciplinary actions and commendations, etc. I've had more than one employee after paging through their file say "Well, that was boring - this is all stuff I've already seen." Yup.

In my opinion. not allowing access leads employes to speculate that there must necessarily be "secret" documents and who knows what in their files, which is almost always not the case.

Thank you both, very much. This is such a cool service. Not the answers I would have liked but at least, now I know, and without the expense of paying attorneys to answer simple questions.

Our bill is in the mail.