Should an employer turn over an employee file to the employee themselves or their attorney in California?  California is the hardest state in which to be an employer.  The employer defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm have served San Diego and California employers for more than 40 years.  Our state laws are quite specific on this subject.

Key takeaways regarding a worker’s employment file:

1. Under California’s Labor Code, any present or former worker has the right of inspection and to request a copy of their personnel file; Their “representative” (read: attorney) may also request a copy of the file but must provide written authorization from the worker to do so.
2. The documents in that file typically include the original employment application, notes and documents regarding performance evaluations and disciplinary actions, wage rates and changes, and paperwork surrounding termination, advancement, or demotion.
3. If you, as an employer, receive a request of any nature, call the Watkins Firm for a free, thorough consultation today at 858-535-1511

Generally speaking, employers are always required to provide access to or a copy of a former or current employee’s file to either the worker themselves or their attorney.  If you receive any such request, whether in person, via email, text, or through the mail, it is essential to act quickly and immediately seek a free consultation from the experienced and proven employer defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm by calling 858-535-1511.

You should have a written policy in place regarding the nature of this type of request and how you will respond to it.  This should be part of your employee handbook, as well as your internal policies and procedures.  Ensure that you redact and obscure any legally prohibited or confidential information, such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and any other employee’s name.

The question of should an employer turn over an employee file to the worker or their attorney in California is almost always the tip of the iceberg.  It usually means there is trouble afoot for you, as an employer, and you need to take swift action to prevent things from developing.  The Watkins Firm has served San Diego and California employers, exclusively (we do not represent workers), for more than 40 years.  There are always steps you can take to mitigate your legal and financial risk, or remediate the situation altogether and eliminate the possibility of a wage and hour lawsuit or PAGA class action.

There is what we refer to internally as a “secret 30-day clock” running from the moment of any such request.  It will be essential to verify, in writing, any request from a party and to keep copies of all requests, replies, associated documents, as well as proof of access or compliance (including a reply with a date and time stamp).  It is best to have this done through an external carrier, with a request for a required signature upon delivery.

If you are a California employer and have received a request from a current or former employee to access or obtain a copy of their employment record(s), you must act quickly to protect your interests and reduce or eliminate the potential consequences.  This is rarely an innocent request, and the likelihood of legal action is quite high in these cases.  The good news is that your Watkins Firm attorney has been able to resolve the vast majority of these cases quickly through remediation and mitigation, as well as effective, leveraged negotiation.

Pro-Tip: “Every year it gets harder. They come up with new laws, new issues, new matters, and then the courts rule on them one way or the other. And these employees are more educated. They read this stuff, they’re constantly bombarded with sales pitches from lawyers. So they’re watching everything you do when you hire somebody all across the nation and especially in California.

There’s a whole industry. It’s doubled. There are class actions, PAGA wasn’t even heard of in 20 years ago. And now every seminar you hear about is on PAGA defense. There’s sexual harassment, used to be the young, the big game in town. And now you’ve got to check your paycheck stubs to make sure that they’re not spelled wrong or there’s a missed decibel point, or you’re going to get a class action lawsuit filed against you in, in a multitude of ways. Obviously we have wage and hour disputes. Those are big. They’re everywhere. They’re big in California, they’re big nationally. In fact, the United States Supreme Court recently just ruled in favor of the employee again,

It’s he with the most witnesses wins. And, the sooner you know about a claim against your company, the sooner you can go and gather witnesses that will speak to your side before they’re tainted. You see everybody works in an office or a company and they talk to each other, they go to lunch and they try to turn (if they’re unhappy) everyone around them against you. And people’s opinions change just after a few conversations. So if you get there early, you can talk to people, do a little investigation and stop it before it starts. Or if it’s too late, you can get the lawyers involved quicker and we can resolve it faster just by getting control of the evidence.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

Should an employer turn over an employee file to the employee themselves or their attorney in California?  In the vast majority of cases, yes, you are required to by law.  However, you have 30 days to do so. Before taking any action, it is essential to immediately seek a free, thorough consultation with a Watkins Firm employer defense attorney at 858-535-1511.  We will provide insight, sound advice, and counsel.  We can tell you if a lawsuit has already been filed against you.  In many cases, the lawsuit is filed, but they are waiting to serve it upon you.  We can review the lawsuit, identify potential challenges and risks, and help you thwart their intentions before they have a chance to start.

Once you remove the ability of the attorney(s) to recover their fees, they usually have no financial or legal interest in moving forward.

We invite you to review our podcast Episode 28 – Common Employer Disputes and Defenses as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.