An Act To Provide Employees Fair Access to Personnel Files LR 1499(02)
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0411
Committee Amendment CA_A_H54 (House)
Amends: 26 MRSA §631

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. 1/.. to H. P • 319, L.D. 411, Bill, "An 
Act To Provide Employees Fair Access to Personnel Files" 
Amend 
the bill by striking out all of section 1 
and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §631, as amended by PL 1999, c. 235, §l, is 
further amended to read: 
§63l. 
Employee right to review personnel file 
The employer shall, upon written request from an employee or 
former employee, provide the employee, former employee or duly 
authorized representative with an opportunity to review and copy 
the employee's personnel file if the employer has a personnel 
file for that employee. 
The reviews and copying must take place 
at the location where the personnel files are maintained and 
during normal office hours unless, at the employer's discretion, 
a 
more 
convenient 
time 
and 
location 
for 
the 
employee 
are 
arranged. 
In each calendar year, the employer shall provide, at 
no cost to the employee, one cQPY of the entire personnel file 
when requested by the employee or former employee and, 
when 
requested by the employee or former employee, one copy of all the 
material added to the personnel file after the copy of the entire 
file wa§ 
provided. 
The cost of copying 
any other material 
requested during that calendar 
year 
is paid by 
the 
person 
requesting 
the 
copy. 
For 
the 
purpose 
of 
this 
section, 
a 
personnel file includes, but is not limited to, any formal or 
Page l-LR1499(2) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
d.CO• 
~. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/l,, to H.P. 319, L.D. 411 
informal 
employee 
evaluations 
and 
reports 
relating 
to 
the 
employee's 
character, 
credit, 
work 
habits, 
compensation 
and 
benefits and nonprivileged medical records or nurses' station 
notes relating to the employee that the employer has in the 
employer's 
possession. 
Records 
in 
a 
personnel 
file 
may 
be 
maintained in any form including paper, microfiche or electronic 
form. 
The employer shall take adequate steps to ensure the 
integrity and confidentiality of these records. 
An 
employer 
maintaining 
records 
in 
a 
form 
other than paper 
shall 
have 
available to the employee, former employee or duly authorized 
representative the equipment necessary to review and copy the 
personnel file. 
Any employer who, following a request pursuant 
to 
this 
section, 
without 
good 
cause 
fails 
to 
provide 
an 
opportunity for review and copying of a personnel file, within 10 
days of receipt of that request, is subject to a civil forfeiture 
of 
$25 
for 
each 
day that 
a 
failure 
continues. 
The 
total 
forfeiture may not exceed $500. 
An employee, former employee or 
the Department of Labor may bring an action in the District Court 
or the Superior Court for such equitable relief, including an 
injunction, 
as 
the 
court may 
consider 
to be 
necessary 
and 
proper. 
The employer may also be required to reimburse the 
employee, former employee or the Department of Labor for costs of 
suit including a reasonable attorney's fee if the employee or the 
department receives a judgment in the employee's or department's 
favor, respectively. 
For the purposes of this section, the term 
"nonprivileged medical records or nurses' station notes" means 
all those materials that have not been found to be protected from 
discovery or disclosure in the course of civil litigation under 
the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26, the Maine Rules of 
Evidence, Article V or similar rules adopted by the Workers' 
Compensation Board or other administrative tribunals.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment limits the number of copies of a personnel 
file that must be provided at the employer's expense in each 
calendar year. The employer must provide a copy of the entire 
personnel file when the employee or former employee requests it, 
at no cost to the employee. 
Upon a second request in the same 
calendar year, 
the 
employer is required to provide at the 
employer's expense only a copy of material added to the personnel 
file between the time the entire file was copied and the time of 
the request. 
An 
employee or former employee may make other 
requests in the same calendar year, but the employee must pay the 
costs of copying any additional material requested. 
This amendment also deletes the requirement in the bill that 
a 
copy of a 
personnel file be provided within 5 days of a 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. II .. to H.P. 319, L.D. 411 
request. 
Current law requiring that the copy be provided within 
days will remain unchanged. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 03/24/03 ~ae 
Office of Fiscal and Program Review 
LD411 
An Act To Provide Employees Fair Access to Personnel Files 
LR 1499(02) 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 
Committee: Labor 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - All Funds 
Costs associated with providing a copy of the personnel record of an employee can be absorbed by all departments 
and agencies within state government utilizing existing budgeted resources. 
LR1499(2) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1