Personnel Records Review Act FAQ

If you are a current or former employee (who has terminated or separated within the last year), you may request to inspect (look at), copy, and/or receive copies of your personnel file.  Your request must be made in writing but can be sent in a letter, email, or text message.  

Your written personnel records request must include:

·        The personnel records you are requesting, or if you are requesting all records that can be requested under the Act;

·        Whether you are requesting to inspect, copy, or receive copies of the records;

·        Whether you want to receive the copies in hardcopy or electronically; and

·        If a representative (or someone helping you like a lawyer, union official, family member, or translator) will be inspecting, copying, or receiving your records. 820 ILCS 40/2(c).

If the documents you are requesting include medical records, and you want your representative to review them, you must also include a signed waiver to release medical information and medical records to your representative. 820 ILCS 40/2(c)(5).

Your request must be made to the person responsible for maintaining your employer’s personnel records. This may be the company’s human resources department or payroll department, your supervisor or department manager, or an individual designated by your employer in a written policy. 820 ILCS 40/2(b).

Your employer must respond to you within seven working days after you request personnel records. An employer may take an additional seven calendar days to respond if they can reasonably show that this deadline cannot be met. 820 ILCS 40/2 (d).

Your employer must grant you at least two requests in each calendar year. 820 ILCS 40/2 (b).

You have the right to inspect, copy, and receive copies of the following documents, if they are kept by your employer:

·        any personnel documents which are related to your qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action;

·        any employment-related contracts or agreements that you may have signed;

·        any employee handbooks that were available to you or that you acknowledged receiving; and

·        any written employer policies or procedures that you were subject to and that concern qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action.

820 ILCS 40/2

However, you do not have the right to inspect, copy, or receive copies of any of the following documents under the Act:

·        Letters of reference or external peer review documents for academic employees of institutions of higher education;

·        Any portion of a test document, except that you may see total test scores for either all or part of the test;

·        The employer's staff planning documents, such documents relating to the business' development, expansion, closing or operational goals except if the documents have been or are meant to be used by your employer to determine your qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or benefits, discharge or discipline;

·        Information of a personal nature about a person other than you if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person's privacy;

·        Records relevant to any other pending claim between you and your employer which may be discovered in a judicial proceeding;

·        Records kept by your employer to investigate your criminal conduct or other actions you have taken which could harm the employer's property, operations, or business or cause financial liability, unless and until your employer takes adverse personnel action against you (such as discipline, termination, or demotion) based on the information in the records; or

·        Trade secrets, client lists, sales projections, and financial data.

820 ILCS 40/10

The Personnel Record Review Act requires employers to produce documents covered by the Act, regardless of whether they are maintained in a formal personnel file or personnel file system. However, the Personnel Records Review Act does not require employers to create or produce records that the employer does not already have or maintain. 820 ILCS 40/10(e). Employers should be aware that other state or federal laws may require retention of certain employment-related documents during or after an employee’s employment.

If your employer does not have records for one or more of the categories of documents you requested, the employer may respond in writing notifying you that it does not have these records. The employer but must still provide you any other records you requested under the Act that is does have. 820 ILCS 40/2(d).

The Act allows you to obtain a copy of your personnel file. However, the employer may charge you a fee for making a copy. This fee must be limited to the actual copying costs, and cannot include costs of time spent copying, the purchase or rental of copying machines, the purchase or rental of computer equipment, the purchase, rental, or licensing of software, or any other similar expenses. 20 ILCS 40/2(d).

If your employer refuses a lawful personnel records request, you may file a complaint with the Department. The complaint form is available here.  If the Department does not resolve your complaint within 180 days or the Department certifies that it is unlikely to be able to resolve your complaint within 180 days, you may commence an action in civil court to compel your employer to comply with the Act.  820 ILCS 40/12(c).

After a complaint is filed, the Department will review it to determine if it has jurisdiction over the complaint. If the Department has jurisdiction, a member of our Informal Resolution and Mediation Unit may reach out to you to get more details about your complaint. The Unit will also reach out to your employer to request any documents that may be due under the Act. The Unit shall attempt to resolve your complaint by conference, conciliation, or persuasion. Unresolved complaints may be referred for further investigation.  The Department has the authority to investigate, request the issuance of a search warrant, or issue a subpoena to inspect the files of the employer, if necessary. 820 ILCS 40/12(b).

If the Department does not resolve the complaint within 180 days or the Department certifies that it is unlikely to be able to resolve the complaint within 180 days, you may commence an action in civil court.  820 ILCS 40/12(c).

Either an employee or the Department may bring an action in civil court to compel the employer to comply with the Act.  If an employee prevails in that civil action, the court must award the following damages:

·        Actual damages plus costs

·        For a willful and knowing violation, $200 plus costs, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and actual damages.

820 ILCS 40/12(d).

An employer that does not comply with a court order may be punished with contempt. Any employer or agent of an employer who violates the Act is guilty of a petty offense. 820 ILCS 40/12(e). 

You can make a request for your personnel file under the Act. Your employer is required to provide you any personnel documents which are related to your qualifications for employment, which may include your employment verification information.

Additionally, the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act requires that employers follow certain steps if they believe that an employee’s employment verification information is inaccurate, which includes providing the employee with specific information about the claimed discrepancy and allowing the employee to correct the discrepancy (if required by law). An employee has the right to representation during any meetings or discussions regarding employment verification information.  More information on the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is available here: https://labor.illinois.gov/laws-rules/conmed/privacy-workplace.html.

If you disagree with any information contained in the personnel record, you may request a removal or correction of that information from your employer. If your employer does not agree to the removal or correction, you can submit a written statement explaining your position. Your written statement must be attached to the document(s) you dispute and included in your personnel file. Moving forward, if the disputed document(s) are released to a third party, your written statement must be included as part of the file.

If your employer knowingly places personnel record information which is false, you may take legal action, such as by filing a lawsuit, to have that information expunged. 820 ILCS 40/6.