Employee Personnel File Access Requirements in Pennsylvania

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Who may inspect and what is covered

Section 1321 covers a person currently employed, on leave, or laid off with reemployment rights. It expressly excludes applicants and “any other person,” so an employee whose employment simply ended does not keep the statutory right. The employee may inspect personally or designate an agent.

The file is defined by both content and use. The listed records include the application, pay and benefit information, commendations, warnings, discipline, leave and attendance, employment history, retirement information, and performance evaluations. Section 1322 limits inspection to records used to decide employment, promotion, additional compensation, termination, or discipline.

Request, agent authorization, and inspection setting

The statute begins with a request but does not make writing mandatory in every case. The employer may require its own written identification form and may ask the employee to state either the purpose or the particular parts sought. A designated agent needs a signed authorization naming the person, specific date or dates, and the purpose or file portions authorized for inspection.

There is no fixed five-, ten-, or thirty-day deadline. The employer must provide access at reasonable times during regular business hours at the office where the records are ordinarily kept, when enough time is available during the business day. The employer may require the employee or agent to inspect on free time.

Notes instead of a required copy

Section 1323 permits notes but does not require the employer to allow the file, part of it, or a copy to leave the inspection site. The employer may supervise the inspection and protect the records from loss, damage, or alteration. The statute therefore creates an inspection right, not a general take-away copy or mailing right, and it states no copying charge.

Counterstatement and enforcement

Either the employer or employee may petition the Bureau of Labor Standards for a hearing. The Bureau may order access and an opportunity for the employee to place a counterstatement in the file. But § 1324 also says the Bureau cannot inspect the file or investigate whether the challenged entry is actually wrong; the employee must use an available grievance or other civil remedy for that merits dispute.

What trips people up

“Former employee” is too broad for this law. A laid-off worker who retains reemployment rights qualifies, but an ordinary terminated or resigned worker does not fit § 1321's definition.

The ordinary frequency cap applies separately. Without reasonable cause, the employer may limit the employee to one inspection per calendar year and the designated agent to one inspection per calendar year. An employee and agent are not forced to share one combined annual inspection.

The exclusion list is substantial. Criminal-investigation material, references, litigation or grievance preparation, medical records, future-operations planning, and information available under the Fair Credit Reporting Act are outside the statutory personnel file even when the employer stores them near HR records.

Common questions

Must I make the request in writing?

Not automatically, but the employer may require its written identification form and may require the purpose or requested file portions to be specified.

Can I demand a photocopy or electronic copy?

The Act guarantees inspection and permits notes. It does not require a take-away copy, electronic delivery, or mailing.

Can a lawyer or union representative inspect for me?

Yes, as a designated agent, if the employee signs an authorization for specific date or dates and identifies the purpose or authorized file portions.

Statutes and sources

• 43 P.S. §§ 1321-1322: covered employees, personnel-file definition, exclusions, and inspection right — official act (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 43 P.S. §§ 1322-1323: request form, agent authorization, setting, notes, file protection, and annual frequency — official act (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 43 P.S. § 1324: Bureau petition, hearing, access order, counterstatement, and limits on error review — official act (accessed July 12, 2026).