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 Virginia, there is no specific state statute that grants all employees the right to access and inspect their personnel files. However, certain public sector employees may have this right under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows citizens to request records from public bodies. This right is generally not extended to employees of private companies. While some states have laws that require private employers to provide access to personnel files, Virginia is not one of them. Employees in Virginia may request to see their personnel file, but unless there is a company policy or contractual agreement in place that grants them this right, the employer is not legally obligated to provide access. Additionally, Virginia does not have a specific adverse-action notice requirement for private employers. Public sector employees may have additional rights under other applicable laws or regulations.