Employee Personnel File Access Requirements in Alaska

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Who can inspect and what records are covered

AS 23.10.430(a) covers both a current employee and a former employee. It reaches the employee's personnel file and other personnel information the employer maintains concerning that employee. Subsection (c) defines an employer as a person employing one or more others, so the right reaches an ordinary private employer; the definition also includes specified public employers.

Inspection and copies

The employer must permit inspection and copying “under reasonable rules during regular business hours” (§ 23.10.430(a)). A requester may make copies, and the employer may charge the reasonable cost of duplication. The section does not specify a fixed response-day count, a particular request form, or an inspection address.

What trips people up

Former employees are included. Section 23.10.430(a) expressly names them; it states no postemployment window or numerical request cap. Subsection (b) also says this access section does not supersede a collective bargaining agreement.

Public workers have an additional rule. § 39.25.080(c) lets a state employee examine the employee's own personnel files and authorize others to examine them. The general access right in § 23.10.430(a) is not confined to state workers.

Wage-record rules are separate. AS §§ 23.05.080-.100 require employer wage and hour records and give the labor department inspection power. The personnel-file right itself comes from § 23.10.430.

Common questions

Must I pay to see my file? Section 23.10.430(a) permits a reasonable duplication charge when you request copies. It does not state an inspection fee.

Can I force a correction or attach a rebuttal? Section 23.10.430 provides inspection and copying rights but states no correction or rebuttal procedure.

Statutes and sources

• AS 23.10.430(a)-(c) — “(a) An employer shall permit an employee or former employee to inspect and make copies of the employee's personnel file and other personnel information maintained by the employer concerning the employee under reasonable rules during regular business hours. The employer may require an employee or former employee who requests copies of material under this subsection to pay the reasonable cost of duplication. (b) This section does not supersede the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. (c) In this section, (1) “employee” means a person employed by an employer; (2) “employer” means a person who employs one or more other persons and includes the state, the University of Alaska, the Alaska Railroad, and political subdivisions of the state.” Source: https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=23.10.430&secEnd=23.10.440 (accessed 2026-10-09).

• AS 39.25.080(c) — “(c) A state employee has the right to examine the employee's own personnel files and may authorize others to examine those files.” Source: https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=39.25.080&secEnd=39.25.080 (accessed 2026-10-09).

• AS 23.05.080-.100 — employer wage and hour recordkeeping and department inspection authority. Source: https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=23.05.080&secEnd=23.05.100 (accessed 2026-10-09).