Employee Access to Personnel Records
MN Personnel Records Act
Employees
Gives Minnesota employees the right to review their personnel records on written request (once every six months) and former employees the right to a free copy, and lets employees dispute information and attach a position statement. Records improperly withheld from review generally cannot be used against the employee in later proceedings, and retaliation is prohibited.
- Where
- Minnesota
- Citation
- Minn. Stat. 181.960 to 181.966
- Status
- In force
- Enforced by
- Employees by civil action (181.965)
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Employees may sue to compel compliance and recover actual damages plus costs; for retaliation, actual damages, back pay, reinstatement, and attorney fees; one-year limitations period (181.965).
- Applies to
- Employers with one or more employees in Minnesota (181.961, subd. 4)
Rights it gives people
- On written request, let an employee review the personnel record within 7 working days (14 if kept outside Minnesota), no more than once every six months, and give separated employees a free copy.Minn. Stat. 181.961
- If an employee disputes information and no agreement is reached, include the employee's written position statement (up to five pages) with the disputed information and with any copy given to others.Minn. Stat. 181.962, subd. 1
Practices it requires
- Do not retaliate against employees for asserting personnel-record rights.Minn. Stat. 181.964
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Definitions (181.960) and 181.966 were not read; effective dates of the underlying session laws not verified.
Research reference, not legal advice.