Illinois: Employee Personnel File Access Requirements

Requirements one by one

Who may request and what is covered

Section 1 covers current employees, workers with recall or return rights after
layoff or leave, and former employees who left within the preceding year. The
employer threshold is at least five employees, excluding the employer's listed
immediate family members.

Section 2 reaches more than a traditional HR folder. It covers personnel
documents used for employment decisions, binding employment agreements,
handbooks made available to the employee, and written policies the employer
says governed qualifications, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits,
discharge, or discipline. Records held by a contracted recordkeeper remain
within the access right.

Written request and seven-day response

The request must be written, but email or text qualifies. It identifies the
records, whether inspection or copies are sought, hardcopy or electronic format,
and whether a representative will act. A representative requesting medical
information also needs the employee's signed waiver.

The ordinary deadline is seven working days after receipt. The employer may use
seven additional calendar days only if it reasonably shows the first deadline
cannot be met. If the employee already has access through a system, the employer
may provide instructions instead. An in-person inspection occurs reasonably near
the workplace during normal hours unless a different arrangement is more
convenient.

Copies, delivery, and cost

The employee may inspect, copy, and receive copies in hardcopy or a reasonable,
commercially available electronic format. On written request, the employer must
email or mail the requested record to the address the employee identifies. A fee
may include only actual duplication cost—not staff time, copying or computer
equipment, software, or similar overhead.

Correction, rebuttal, and enforcement

The parties may agree to correct or remove disputed information. If they do not,
§ 6 requires the employer to attach the employee's written statement to the
disputed portion and include it whenever that portion is released to a third
party while it remains in the file. Knowingly false information may be pursued
through legal action for expungement.

An employee may complain to the Illinois Department of Labor. If the Department
has not resolved the complaint within 180 calendar days—or certifies sooner that
resolution is unlikely—the employee may sue to compel compliance. A prevailing
employee receives actual damages and costs; a willful and knowing violation adds
$200 and reasonable attorney fees.

What trips people up

The seven extra days are not automatic. The statute uses working days for the
initial seven-day period and calendar days for the extension, and the employer
must reasonably show why the first deadline cannot be met.

The Act requires at least two requests per calendar year, made at reasonable
intervals unless a collective bargaining agreement says otherwise. That is a
minimum compliance duty, not a statement that every third request is unlawful.

Investigatory or security records can be excluded while the investigation is
ongoing, but the exclusion ends if the employer takes adverse personnel action
based on the information. At that point, the employer cannot continue treating
the relied-on material as categorically outside access under § 10(g).

Common questions

Can a former employee request the file?

Yes, if the employee terminated service within the preceding year.

Does a text message count as a written request?

Yes. Section 2(e) expressly includes electronic communications such as email or
text messages.

Can the employer charge for staff time spent making copies?

No. The fee is limited to actual duplication cost and excludes imputed staff,
equipment, and software costs.

Statutes and sources

• 820 ILCS 40/1 and 40/2(a)-(b): covered workers and employers, covered records,
  and request frequency —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 820 ILCS 40/2(c)-(e): request contents, seven-day deadline, location, delivery,
  format, and actual-cost limit —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 820 ILCS 40/6 and 40/10: correction, rebuttal, expungement, and exclusions —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 820 ILCS 40/12: Department complaint, court action, damages, fees, and petty
  offense —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).