Do employees in California have a legal right to make copies or view the contents of their personnel file?

California law requires that employers allow current and former employees access to their personnel file and records that relate to the employee's performance or to any grievance concerning the employee. See Labor Code Section 1198.5

Employees of state agencies, with few exceptions, and public safety officers are exempt from the provisions of Labor Code Section 1198.5. However, other public employees are covered including those of a city, county, special district, community redevelopment agency or other political subdivision of the state.

Inspections must be allowed at reasonable times and intervals but not later than 30 days after the employer receives a written request. To facilitate the inspection, employers must do all of the following:

• Maintain a copy of each employee's personnel records for a period of not less than three years after termination of employment.
• Make a current employee's personnel records available for inspection, and if requested by the employee or representative, provide a copy at the place where the employee reports to work, or at another location agreeable to the employer and the requester. If the employee is required to inspect or receive a copy at a location other than the place where he or she reports to work, no loss of compensation to the employee is permitted.
• Make a former employee's personnel records available for inspection, and if requested by the employee or representative, provide a copy at the location where the employer stores the records, unless the parties mutually agree in writing to a different location.

Copies of the personnel file must be provided upon request and employers may charge a fee not exceeding the actual cost of reproduction.

However, the right to inspect and make copies of records kept in an employee's personnel file does not apply to records relating to the investigation of a possible criminal offense, letters of reference or ratings, reports or records that 1) were obtained prior to the employee's employment, 2) were prepared by identifiable examination committee members or 3) were obtained in connection with a promotional exam.

Source: California Department of Industrial Relations