No federal law gives an employee the right to access and inspect their personnel file maintained by their employer—but some state laws do. Many states require public employers to allow employees to access and inspect their personnel files—and some states require private employers to do so as well.
Some states limit an employee’s right to access and inspect their personnel file to certain documents—and some states require an employer to provide employees with certain documents (such as a disciplinary document) within a certain number of days after it is placed in the employee’s personnel file (known as an adverse-action notice).
Laws regarding whether employees have the right to access and inspect their personnel file—and if so, the circumstances under which they may do so—are generally located in a state’s statutes.
In Texas, there is no state statute that requires private employers to grant employees the right to access and inspect their personnel files. However, public employees in Texas do have the right to review their personnel files under the Texas Public Information Act. Private employees may be granted access at the discretion of the employer, but it is not mandated by law. Additionally, Texas does not have a specific adverse-action notice requirement for private employers. This means that private employers are not legally required to provide employees with documents such as disciplinary records within a certain number of days after they are placed in the employee's personnel file. Public employers, on the other hand, must comply with the Texas Public Information Act, which may require the disclosure of certain documents upon request.
