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 Florida, there is no state statute that requires private employers to grant employees access to their personnel files. However, public employees in Florida do have the right to inspect their personnel files under the Florida Public Records Law (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes). This law allows public employees to access documents related to their official business as employees of the state, which includes their personnel files. For private employees, access to personnel files is at the discretion of the employer, unless there are specific contractual or policy provisions that grant such access. It is important for employees to review their company's policies or their employment contract to understand their rights regarding access to personnel files. Additionally, while there is no broad requirement for private employers to provide adverse-action notices, certain regulated industries or professions may have specific requirements regarding the disclosure of disciplinary actions or other personnel matters.