Virginia: Employers Must Provide Employees’ Personnel Records on Request

As of July 1, 2019, Virginia employers will be required to provide employees with copies of their personnel records upon request.  Following an amendment to the Virginia Code, any written request from an employee or an employee’s attorney must be responded to within 30 days of receipt.

Key points employers should know about personnel file requests are that:

• Employees may request records pertaining to the employee’s dates of employment, wages/salary, job description, job title, and/or any injuries sustained during employment;
• Employers are permitted to charge a reasonable fee for copying physical pages, or provisioning electronic copies; and
• Employers must provide “all records or papers retained by the employer” at the time the request is made.

The only exception to a records request is if the employee’s treating physician or clinical psychologist provides a written statement that providing the records could reasonably endanger the safety of the employee or another person, or if the records reference another individual and such access could cause substantial harm to the referenced person. In such cases, records may be produced to an employee attorney or authorized insurer, but not directly to the employee.

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