Employee Personnel File Access Requirements in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Who may review and what is covered

Section 423.501 covers both current and former employees and gives no post- termination cutoff. The employer must have at least four employees. The record is defined by use: material that identifies the employee and is used, has been used, or may affect employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or discipline. A contracted outside recordkeeper does not take the record out of the Act.

The exclusions include identifying references, multiemployee staff planning, medical material available from the provider, third-party private information, separately kept criminal and grievance investigations, student education records, and genuinely private maker notes that are not shared.

Written request, review, and copies

The employee submits a written request describing the personnel record. The Act does not set a numeric response deadline. It requires review at reasonable intervals, generally no more than twice per calendar year, at a location near the workplace during normal office hours. If that timing would require leave from work, the employer must offer another reasonable time.

After review, the employee may obtain all or part of the information. The fee is limited to actual incremental duplication cost. If the employee demonstrates an inability to review at the employing unit, § 423.504 requires mailing on written request.

Correction, rebuttal, and court relief

The parties may agree to remove or correct disputed information. If they do not, the employee may submit a statement of no more than five letter-size sheets. It must accompany the disputed information whenever that information is disclosed to a third party while it remains in the file.

An employee may sue in circuit court 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 twice-yearly language is a general frequency rule, not a fixed response deadline. A request still must be handled at reasonable intervals, but the Act does not translate that standard into a set number of days.

The ordinary copy right follows review. Mailing is narrower still: the employee must demonstrate an inability to review at the employing unit and make a written request. The statute does not create a general right to demand mail delivery in every case.

Former employees remain within the definition without a stated one-year or three-year window. That does not create a separate retention period; access can only reach records the employer still has.

Common questions

Can a former employee make a request?

Yes. Section 423.501 defines employee to include a person formerly employed and states no post-termination cutoff.

Can the employer charge for copies?

Yes, but only the actual incremental cost of duplicating the requested information.

Can I force the employer to delete an evaluation I dispute?

Correction or removal requires agreement unless the information was knowingly false and legal action supports expungement. Otherwise, the employee can add the statutory written statement.

Statutes and sources

• Mich. Comp. Laws § 423.501: covered employees and employers, functional record definition, and exclusions — official text (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 423.503-.504: written request, reasonable-interval review, location, copies, fee, and mailing — review and copies (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 423.505: correction, employee statement, and expungement — official text (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 423.511: compliance action, damages, costs, and attorney fees — official text (accessed July 12, 2026).