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Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts
©2018 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
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Fringe benefit information, including authorizations for deduction or
withholding of pay;
Leave records (including attendance records);
Retirement records; and
Other records relating to the employment history with the employer.
Any of these records could be used to affect the employment status or opportunities of present or
former employees.
3. W
HAT
M
AY
NOT B
E
P
LACED INTO A
P
ERSONNEL
F
ILE
The following should not be placed in “official” personnel files:
Confirmation of counseling or oral reprimand. As a practical matter,
placing written confirmation of an oral counseling into the file causes the
employee to be subject to the equivalent of a written reprimand.
Grievance documents. Placing grievance documents into a personnel file
may result in retaliation claims.
Employee health records, including medical and psychological information
and reports. These must be placed in a sealed file.
These documents should be kept in a separate file or in a “supervisor’s” file.
B. T
HE
R
IGHT TO
I
NSPECT
The Education Code gives employees the right, “at reasonable intervals and at reasonable times,”
to inspect personnel records relating to their work performance or any grievance relating to
them.
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Employees do
not
have a right to inspect letters of reference, records relating to the
investigation of a criminal offense, or records obtained prior to employment.
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The employer must make personnel records accessible “at the place where the employee reports
to work” or “at the location where the employer stores the personnel records,” without loss of
compensation to the employee.
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As long as district rules do not unreasonably limit access, a
district may regulate the handling of files and the location of inspections, and may require an
employee to give reasonable notice before inspecting a personnel file. An employer need not
make personnel records available at a time when the employee is actually required to work.
An agency can and should restrict employee access to certain private information provided by
third parties, such as confidential performance appraisals, even if the contents are sought by
court subpoena. However, it is the employer’s duty and responsibility to protect and assert such
third party rights to confidentiality.
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To that effect, employers should take care to maintain
confidential documents separate in the individual employee’s personnel file.