Get a practical overview of California personnel file requests, including employee rights, employer duties, record contents, and medical privacy rules. See how deadlines, penalties, and strict documentation practices affect compliance when workers request copies of their personnel records.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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Keeping personnel files organized is one of those tasks that doesn’t seem urgent—until someone asks for them. In California, employees (current or former) have the right to inspect and obtain copies of their personnel records, and when a workplace dispute, complaint, or legal claim pops up, this request usually arrives right away. If the employer hasn’t properly maintained the file, there’s no magic “rebuild” button later. What isn’t kept correctly at the right time simply can’t be recreated.
Here’s a clear look at:
California law doesn’t leave this to guesswork. Employers must retain the personnel files of former employees for at least three years after separation. This is not optional.
These files serve as the full employment history: hiring documents, performance notes, disciplinary letters, promotions, training, & eventually, separation paperwork. If a dispute arises months or years later, this file becomes extremely important.
California Labor Code requires employers to provide employees with copies of any document they signed during employment, whether on day one or year ten. But the personnel file usually holds much more than that.
Typical contents include:
Anything the employer used to make decisions about promotions, discipline, or compensation usually belongs in the file:
All of this paints the full picture of the employee’s time with the company.
California is strict about this. Medical records cannot be stored in the personnel file. Anything related to workers’ compensation, disability accommodations, medical leave, fitness-for-duty notes—those must be kept in a confidential, separate file. Mixing these documents into personnel records is a compliance risk.
Even though employees have broad rights to inspect their files, some documents are legally off-limits. These include:
The idea is to protect sensitive background materials or investigations that should not, and legally cannot, be disclosed.
There’s a wrinkle:
If an employee files a lawsuit related to a personnel matter, their right to inspect their personnel file pauses while that lawsuit is active. The rationale is simple. Once in litigation, discovery rules take over. The definition is broad: if personnel records are relevant to the case, the exception applies.
When a written personnel file request in California arrives, employers have:
If the employer misses the deadline:
Ignoring the personnel file request in California is always the worst option.
Keeping organized personnel files doesn’t prevent lawsuits, but it makes them far easier to handle. It is helpful to have documents complete and properly retained. Employers & their attorneys can respond quickly and accurately. It’s not great to have records missing, incomplete, or scattered in ten different locations. Everything becomes harder, riskier, and more expensive.
And practically speaking, many requests for personnel files come shortly before a demand letter or lawsuit. Reviewing the documents with legal counsel before producing them often helps employers understand the scope of the potential issue and prepare strategically.
California’s rules on personnel files may not feel exciting, but they matter a lot. Employees have the right to know what’s in their file, and employers have the responsibility to keep those records organized, complete, and accessible for years after an employee leaves. When a personnel file request in California shows up, there’s no time to scramble or guess or hunt through old folders.
A well-kept personnel file protects the employer’s interests, speeds up legal response, and creates a cleaner, more transparent workplace. In the long run, it’s one of the simplest ways for California employers to stay compliant and avoid unnecessary trouble.
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