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 Colorado, employees have the right to access and inspect their personnel files. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 8-2-129, employees are entitled to inspect their personnel files at least once annually. This law applies to both public and private employers, with certain exceptions such as financial institutions, entities subject to the Securities Exchange Act, and employers required to maintain a personnel file by federal law or regulation. The statute specifies that employers must allow current and former employees to inspect or obtain a copy of their personnel files. However, the law does not require employers to maintain personnel files. Additionally, the law limits the types of documents that employees are entitled to inspect, excluding documents related to confidential reports from previous employers, active criminal investigations, and more. Employers are also required to provide employees with a copy of any disciplinary or termination notices within 10 days after the action is taken.