Q: Does a general employee have the right to view your personnel file without your permission?
A: That depends largely on what information is in your employee file. Assuming it contains normal information such as your home address, your birthday, your social security number and disciplinary history, it is possible that your privacy rights have been violated. It also depends on what you mean by "general employee." A "general employee" who is in the human resources department and is not a manager may normally look in your employee file as part of his or her job, and doing so would not normally violate your privacy rights. Your employee file should not contain medical information. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires medical information to be stored separately from your employee file. Still, some employers do not do that properly. If the ADA applies to your employer and if your medical information was revealed to someone who has no job-related need to know your medical information, then your privacy rights under the ADA may have been violated.
1 user found this answer helpful
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
