former employee requests file info

HRinGA

I know this has been discussed before but I couldn't find it. Anyway, how do you handle requests from former employees who want copies of stuff from their personnel file? I have a former ee who wants a copy of her last review. This review shows her promotion to an exempt level position. I'm not worried about her request, it's the one from the disgruntled that worries me.
Thx

Gillian3

To summarize the earlier responses, they fall into two camps. Give whatever the employee wants, they'll get it at some point anyway and the other group who says give nothing and make it hard for the opposing attorney. I am in the former group, especially when it comes to a performance appraisal. If the employee wasn't given a copy when the appraisal took place, one should have been given then. I see no problem with giving one now, even though it is a former employee.

Don D

In the spirit of British revelry and ceremony, I agree with my English friend Hugh.

Gillian3

With the same spirit, the least you could do is get my name in the right order. Hugh is my last name. But, it's OK.

Don D

It is customary in the South to address royalty using only the last name. Using the first name suggests an unacceptable form of familiarity. But, I should have said Sir Hugh and for that I apologize.

Back to the question. One of the very few, if not the only time I would agree to pull, copy and provide an item from the file of a previous employee would be if (1) I was feeling charitable and, (2) It was obviously something that might aid in their job search rather than something they would use to build or bolster a case against us. If the ee had been terminated and I sensed that he might be trying to show that he got good reviews prior to termination, I'd sit tight and let his attorney fish for it.

Gillian3

Yep, I know all that, and the reason I am in the other camp is that I see no reason to be adversarial - attorneys do enough of that - and most of the time the file doesn't have much in it anyway, and the guaranteed subpoena (because we have signaled that there is some juicy stuff in the file by our refusal to cooperate) will force production anyway. I suppose that there may be space for the exception where I might think differently about a particular case as you probably would as well.

Don D

Mr. Hugh, to continue with your argument, the employer is not establishing an adversarial relationship, the ex-employee is. When an employee/ex-employee signals or states that he/she is represented by an attorney or that he/she needs company property (files) for the purpose of contesting an action, THE EX EMPLOYEE has just established himself in an adversarial position. It is my opinion that it would be reckless of the employer's representative to NOT acknowledge that relationship and act accordingly from that point.

As I have said on here many times, once the employer starts releasing documents, piecemeal, from a file or has unofficial conversations related to the file, conversations that by the way can never be retracted and files that can never be retrieved, ONCE THIS ADVERSARIAL RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN TELEGRAPHED TO YOU, then the employer can expect such requests to continue ad infinitum. What has always worked for me is to, early on, tell the person 'Your attorney should contact our attorney', or 'That material is company property and is not available by telephone request.' If the attorney is 'going to get it anyway', fine, let him earn his hourly rate.

And, in my opinion, refusing to release a file does not 'signal that there is something juicy in there', rather it is simply good business.

I do not expect nor will I try to change your mind at this stage in your career; but, I just might help someone else see the light. x:-)

Gillian3

Can't change your mind - likewise.

Shadowfax

In Mi you would simply hae no choice!

HRinFL

We do not release documentation from an ee's file if they are inactive, without a subpoena. Anything that the ee can review, they receive at the time the document was issues, be it an evaluation, disciplinary document, etc. Therefore, when they ask for it, we tell them they should have a copy because we gave them one.

For active ees, we will allow them to view their file, but only documents they would have received a copy of. So...any notes, etc. that someone may have written about an issue with the ee would be removed. They must view it at work and in the office so we know that they did not remove any document(s)from the file.

I would not release to a former ee because, in my opinion, this is proprietary information. Like The Don said, most of the time, the request is due to them readying for some form of complaint. Make them, or their attorney work for it.

marc

All the theories aside, this can be driven by state law. Some states require you to provide copies up to one year following the severance of the relationship, some allow the viewing and note-taking, but no copying and some are silent.

Check with your state's equivalent of the DOL and see what they say.

Otherwise, I generally agree with Don's position of this matter.