No federal law gives an employee the right to access and inspect their personnel file maintained by their employer—but some state laws do. Many states require public employers to allow employees to access and inspect their personnel files—and some states require private employers to do so as well.

Some states limit an employee’s right to access and inspect their personnel file to certain documents—and some states require an employer to provide employees with certain documents (such as a disciplinary document) within a certain number of days after it is placed in the employee’s personnel file (known as an adverse-action notice).

Laws regarding whether employees have the right to access and inspect their personnel file—and if so, the circumstances under which they may do so—are generally located in a state’s statutes.

In North Carolina, employees have the right to access and inspect their personnel files under certain conditions. The state's law primarily applies to public sector employees, as outlined in the North Carolina General Statutes § 126-24, which grants state employees the right to examine their personnel files except for certain confidential information. For private sector employees, the law is less comprehensive. While there is no general statute that grants private employees the right to access their personnel files, some employers may allow it as part of their company policy. Additionally, North Carolina law requires that an employee be notified of any negative information added to their personnel file that could affect their job status, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes § 126-25. This notification must be given within a reasonable time frame, allowing the employee to submit a written statement in response to the adverse information, which will then be included in their personnel file.