Personal and Personnel Files

After you have secured a job, and you get employed, the human resource department of the organization usually keeps personal and personnel files of all its employees. It should get noted that what is contained in these file includes the hiring or firing information, letters to clients, salary information and internal memoranda. All these are the property of the firm and in most states the employee has no right to go with the files even after leaving an organization.

However, depending on an organization, it might have a policy that allows an employee to have a look at the personal and personnel files. However, still the employer is under no legal obligation to allow the employee have the file.

The personal and personnel files contain all the documents regarding your employment as an employee. The records will include information relating to hiring and firing, insurance and pension benefits, employer-sponsored plans on saving and other information relating to your tenure of engagement with the organization.

You can also find evaluations, letters of recommendation, training program certificates and awards here in these files. These things can be used in applying for other jobs and also for support in case you have to make a claim in future if you get terminated unlawfully.

Here at United Employees Law Group advise employees that when they think they have a case against their employer, they should make a list of documents that will help prove your case. However, you should not take any papers that are not yours, and you shouldn’t access any information that you have no right to access.

Accessing information that is confidential and you have no authority might lead you to face some criminal charges. In other cases, the company will have the ground for firing you even if they never had any in the first place. In case you signed the confidentiality agreement, you have to abide by that lest you face civil action for breaching the contract. So, if your employer gives you access to the personal and personnel files, only take what is personal to you and nothing more.

If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has the answers. Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.