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Federal
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to allow employees access to their personnel files. This access is generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative). However, while federal law does not, some state laws require employers to allow employees access to their files. Employers need to comply with the state laws.
Federal OSHA requires that employers must allow employees and their designated representatives to inspect and/or copy records pertaining to exposure to hazardous substances. Access must be provided in a reasonable time, place, and manner. Access must be provided within 15 days working days. No costs may be incurred for the first provision, but subsequent provisions may be charged reasonable, nondiscriminatory administrative costs.
Employees and former employees must be guaranteed access to their individual OSHA 301 forms. Employee representatives will be provided access to the “information about the case” section of the OSHA 301 form in establishments where they represent employees.
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires employers to allow employees to inspect and/or obtain a copy of any of their own protected health information that is used to make decisions about them. Employers must provide access within 30 days of receiving a request if the information is maintained or accessible onsite. If not, employers have 60 days to act. Employers must arrange for a mutually convenient time and place for employee access. Employers may charge reasonable, cost-based fees for copying information, but not for retrieving or handling the information or processing a request.
State
Records to be kept on file | |
Wage and Hour/Payroll | Payroll Employers required to pay state minimum wage to any employee must keep records containing the following information with respect to each employee covered under Oregon minimum wage:
Tipped employees With respect to each tipped employee, the employer must also keep records of a symbol, letter, or other notation placed on the pay records identifying each employee. Fixed schedules For employees on fixed schedules, an employer may maintain records showing instead of the hours worked each day and each workweek, the schedule of daily and weekly hours the employee normally works, provided:
Time requirement These records must be kept for at least two years. OR Stat. §653.045; OR Admin. Rules 839-020-0080, 839-020-0083 |
Employers required to pay state minimum wage to any employee must keep records containing the following information with respect to each employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity (including employees employed in the capacity of academic administrative personnel or teachers in elementary or secondary schools), or in outside sales:
These records must be kept for at least two years. OR Stat. §653.045; OR Admin. Rules 839-020-0080(4), 839-020-0083 | |
Employers required to pay state minimum wage to any employee must keep certain records for employees of hospitals and institutions primarily engaged in the care of persons who are sick or aged or have mental illness or mental retardation, who reside on the premises, and compensated for overtime work on the basis of a work period of 14 consecutive days. The records must contain the following information with respect to each such employee:
Employers must also keep a copy of the agreement or understanding with respect to using the 14-day period for overtime pay computations or, if such agreement or understanding is not in writing, a memorandum summarizing its terms and showing the date it was entered into and how long it remains in effect. These records must be kept for at least two years. OR Stat. §653.045; OR Admin. Rules 839-020-0080(5), 839-020-0083 | |
Retroactive wage payments In addition to the recordkeeping requirements listed in the above sections, employers who make retroactive payments of wages or compensation under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Labor or the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries must record and preserve, as an entry on pay records, the amount of such payment to each employee, the period covered by such payment, and the date of payment. These records must be kept for at least two years. OR Stat. §653.045; OR Admin. Rules 839-020-0080(2), 839-020-0083 | |
Deductions In addition to the recordkeeping requirements listed in the above sections, employers who make deductions from the wages of employees for lodging, meals, or other facilities or services, or furnishes lodging, meals, or other facilities or services to employees as an addition to wages, must maintain and preserve records substantiating the fair market value of furnishing each class of facility/service. Separate records of the fair market value of each item furnished to an employee need not be kept. The requirements may be met by keeping combined records of the fair market value in each class of facility/service, such as housing, fuel, or merchandise furnished through a company store or commissary. Such records must include itemized accounts showing the nature and amount of any expenditures entering into the computation of the fair market value. If additions to or deductions from wages paid so affect the total cash wages due in any workweek (even though the employee actually is paid on an other than a workweek basis) as to result in the employee receiving less in cash than the applicable minimum hourly wage, or if the employee works in excess of the applicable maximum hours standard and any addition to the wages paid are a part of wages, or any deductions made are claimed as allowable deductions, the employer must maintain records showing on a workweek basis those additions to or deductions from wages. OR Stat. §653.045; OR Admin. Rules 839-020-0082, 839-020-0083 | |
Unemployment To comply with unemployment compensation law, employers must keep payroll records for three calendar years. These records must show the total payroll of the employing unit by calendar quarter and, with respect to each employee, the following:
In addition, an employing unit must maintain records with respect to each calendar quarter, showing:
OR Stat. §657.660, OR Admin. Rule 471-031-0005 | |
Accessible Records | Public and private employees Within 45 days after receipt of the request of an employee, employers must provide reasonable opportunity for the employee to inspect, at the place of employment or place of work assignment, a certified copy of the employee's personnel records. These personnel records should include information used or that has been used to determine the employee’s qualification for employment, promotion, additional compensation, or employment termination or other disciplinary action; and time and pay records for the period required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers must keep a terminated employee’s personnel records for not less than 60 days after termination, and the terminated employee’s time and pay records for not less than the period required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. If the employee's personnel records are not readily available, the employer and the employee may agree to extend the time within which the employer must provide the employee reasonable opportunity to inspect the records or furnish a certified copy of the records. Employers may charge employees a reasonable amount for providing access and copies. The amount is to be calculated to recover the actual cost of providing the services. OR Stat. §652.750 Technical Assistance for Employers FAQs: Employee's Right to View Personnel Files |
Public safety officers An employer may not place an adverse comment in the personnel records of a public safety officer unless the officer has first read and signed the document containing the adverse comment. If a public safety officer refuses to sign a document containing an adverse comment, the employer may place the document in the officer’s personnel records with a notation that the document was presented to the officer and the officer refused to sign it. If a public safety officer is not available to read and sign the document containing an adverse comment at the work location where the personnel files are maintained, the employer may place the document in the officer’s personnel records and mail a copy of the document to the officer by regular mail or interoffice mail. A public safety officer may write a response within 30 days of being presented with a document containing an adverse comment. If the officer writes a response, it must be attached to the original document and placed in the officer’s personnel records. Upon request, a public safety officer may inspect the officer’s own personnel records at a reasonable time at the location where the records are kept by the employer. If, after inspection, a public safety officer believes that any portion of the material is mistakenly or unlawfully placed in the officer’s personnel records, the officer may request in writing that the mistaken or unlawful material be corrected or deleted. The request must describe the corrections or deletions requested and the reasons supporting the request and provide any documentation that supports the request. The employer must respond within 30 days from the date the request is received. If the employer does not correct or delete the material, the employer shall place the request and the employer’s response to the request in the officer’s personnel records. OR Stat. §652.750 | |
School district employees School district teachers and their designees are entitled to view their personnel files. Teachers may make written statements relating to any evaluation, reprimand, charge, action, or any matter placed in the teacher's personnel file. The teacher's statement must be placed in the personnel file. Copies of of a teacher evaluation must be provided to teacher who is the subject of the evaluation. The evaluation report must also be placed in teacher's personnel file. OR Stat. §342.850 | |
State college and university faculty Faculty members at Oregon state colleges and universities are also entitled to view their personnel files and records, with some restrictions. Faculty members are entitled to submit evidence rebutting, correcting, amplifying, or explaining any document contained in their personnel files. This evidence should be placed in the file(s). OR Stat. §351.065 | |
Inaccessible Records | "Personnel records" does not include records of an individual relating to the conviction, arrest, or investigation of conduct constituting a violation of the criminal laws, nor confidential reports from previous employers. This section does not apply to faculty personnel records maintained by state colleges and universities. OR Stat. §652.750 |
There are some restrictions on personnel file access for faculty members at Oregon state colleges and universities. Letters and other information submitted in confidence to the State Board of Higher Education or its institutions, schools, or departments prior to July 1, 1975, must be maintained in the affected employee's personnel file(s). However, the anonymity of the contributor of these letters and other information must be protected. The full text shall be made available except the portions which would identify the contributor. This restriction also holds true for confidential letters and other information submitted after July 1, 1975, but prior to the employment of the faculty member. OR Stat. §351.065 |
Contact
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
Regulations
OR Stat. §652.750
OR Stat. §342.850
OR Stat. §652.750
OR Stat. §351.065
Contacts
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
U.S. Health and Human Services Department
Regulations
29 CFR 1910.1020(e) (OSHA)
45 CFR 164.524 (HIPAA)