Important Labor Statutes Relating to an Employee's

Right to Review Their Personnel File

Aaron Morris

Collected here for your convenience are all the California Labor Code sections dealing with an employee's right to review his or her personnel file.  If you'd rather just read a summary, go to our summary at Employee Rights to Personnel File and Employment Law FAQs.

226. 

     (a) Every employer shall, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, furnish each of his or her employees, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee's wages, or separately when wages are paid by personal check or cash, an accurate itemized statement in writing showing (1) gross wages earned, (2) total hours worked by the employee, except for any employee whose compensation is solely based on a salary and who is exempt from payment of overtime under subdivision (a) of Section 515 or any applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, (3) the number of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece rate if the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis, (4) all deductions, provided that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item, (5) net wages earned, (6) the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid, (7) the name of the employee and his or her social security number, except that by January 1, 2008, only the last four digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number other
than a social security number may be shown on the itemized statement, (8) the name and address of the legal entity that is the employer, and (9) all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the employee. The deductions made from payments of wages shall be recorded in ink or other indelible form, properly dated, showing the month, day, and year, and a copy of the statement or a record of the deductions shall be kept on file by the employer for at least three years at the place of employment or at a central location within the State of California.
     (b) An employer that is required by this code or any regulation adopted pursuant to this code to keep the information required by subdivision (a) shall afford current and former employees the right to inspect or copy the records pertaining to that current or former employee, upon reasonable request to the employer. The employer may take reasonable steps to assure the identity of a current or former employee. If the employer provides copies of the records, the actual cost of reproduction may be charged to the current or former employee.
     (c) An employer who receives a written or oral request to inspect or copy records pursuant to subdivision (b) pertaining to a current or former employee shall comply with the request as soon as
practicable, but no later than 21 calendar days from the date of the request. A violation of this subdivision is an infraction. Impossibility of performance, not caused by or a result of a violation of law, shall be an affirmative defense for an employer in any action alleging a violation of this subdivision. An employer may
designate the person to whom a request under this subdivision will be made.
     (d) This section does not apply to any employer of any person employed by the owner or occupant of a residential dwelling whose duties are incidental to the ownership, maintenance, or use of the dwelling, including the care and supervision of children, or whose duties are personal and not in the course of the trade, business, profession, or occupation of the owner or occupant.
     (e) An employee suffering injury as a result of a knowing and intentional failure by an employer to comply with subdivision (a) is entitled to recover the greater of all actual damages or fifty dollars ($50) for the initial pay period in which a violation occurs and one hundred dollars ($100) per employee for each violation in a subsequent pay period, not exceeding an aggregate penalty of four thousand dollars ($4,000), and is entitled to an award of costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
     (f) A failure by an employer to permit a current or former employee to inspect or copy records within the time set forth in subdivision (c) entitles the current or former employee or the Labor Commissioner to recover a seven-hundred-fifty-dollar ($750) penalty from the employer.
     (g) An employee may also bring an action for injunctive relief to ensure compliance with this section, and is entitled to an award of costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
     (h) This section does not apply to the state, to any city, county, city and county, district, or to any other governmental entity, except that if the state or a city, county, city and county, district, or other governmental entity furnishes its employees with a check, draft, or voucher paying the employee's wages, the state or a city, county, city and county, district, or other governmental entity shall, by January 1, 2008, use no more than the last four digits of the employee's social security number or shall use an employee identification number other than the social security number on the itemized statement provided with the check, draft, or voucher.

432. 

If an employee or applicant signs any instrument relating to the obtaining or holding of employment, he shall be given a copy of the instrument upon request.

1198.5. 

     (a) Every employee has the right to inspect the personnel records that the employer maintains relating to the employee's performance or to any grievance concerning the employee.
     (b) The employer shall make the contents of those personnel records available to the employee at reasonable intervals and at reasonable times.  Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), the employer shall not be required to make those personnel records available at a time when the employee is actually required to render service to the employer.
     (c) The employer shall do one of the following:
             (1) Keep a copy of each employee's personnel records at the place where the employee reports to work.
             (2) Make the employee's personnel records available at the place where the employee reports to work within a reasonable period of time following an employee's request.
             (3) Permit the employee to inspect the personnel records at the location where the employer stores the personnel records, with no loss of compensation to the employee.
     (d) The requirements of this section shall not apply to:
             (1) Records relating to the investigation of a possible criminal offense.
             (2) Letters of reference.
             (3) Ratings, reports, or records that were:
                  (A) Obtained prior to the employee's employment.
                  (B) Prepared by identifiable examination committee members.
                  (C) Obtained in connection with a promotional examination.
             (4) Employees who are subject to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, Chapter 9.7 (commencing with Section 3300) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
             (5) Employees of agencies subject to the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Title 1.8 (commencing with Section 1798) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).
     (e) The Labor Commissioner may adopt regulations that determine the reasonable times and reasonable intervals for the inspection of records maintained by an employer that is not a public agency.
     (f) If a public agency has established an independent employee relations board or commission, an employee shall first seek relief regarding any matter or dispute relating to this section from that board or commission before pursuing any available judicial remedy.
     (g) In enacting this section, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish minimum standards for the inspection of personnel records by employees.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the establishment of additional rules for the inspection of personnel records that are established as the result of agreements between an employer and a recognized employee organization.

6408.  

All employers shall provide information to employees in the following ways, as prescribed by authorized regulations:
   (a) Posting of information regarding protections and obligations of employees under occupational safety and health laws.
   (b) Posting prominently each citation issued under Section 6317, or a copy or copies thereof, at or near each place a violation referred to in the notice of violation occurred.
   (c) The opportunity for employees or their representatives to observe monitoring or measuring of employee exposure to hazards conducted pursuant to standards promulgated under Section 142.3.
   (d) Allow access by employees or their representatives to accurate records of employee exposures to potentially toxic materials or harmful physical agents.
   (e) Notification of any employee who has been or is being exposed to toxic materials or harmful physical agents in concentrations or at levels exceeding those prescribed by an applicable standard, order, or special order, and informing any employee so exposed of corrective action being taken.

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Aaron Morris is a Partner with the law firm of Morris & Stone, LLP, located in Santa Ana, Orange County, California. He can be reached at (714) 954-0700, or amorris@toplawfirm.com.  The practice areas of Morris & Stone include employment law (wrongful termination, sexual harassment, wage/overtime claims), business litigation (breach of contract, trade secret, partnership dissolution, unfair business practices, etc.), real estate and construction disputes, first amendment law, Internet law, discrimination claims, defamation suits, and legal malpractice.