Overview
The Illinois Personnel Record Review Act (820 ILCS 40) provides employees with the right to review and, when appropriate, to append their personnel records. This information applies to personnel records in university or system human resources, as well as personnel materials maintained by employing units.
Eligibility To Inspect Personnel Documents
Rights of access to personnel documents are granted to current employees, employees on leave or layoff subject to recall, and former employees who have separated from the University of Illinois System within the last 12 months.
An employee involved in a grievance may designate, in writing, a representative to inspect their personnel records as they pertain to the grievance.
An employee’s right to inspect, copy, and receive personnel documents extends to all the following: personnel documents that have been, or are intended to be, used in determining an employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action, except as exempted by law. In addition; any employment-related contracts or agreements that are legally binding on the employee; any employee handbooks made available to the employee; and any written policies or procedures related to employment qualifications, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or disciplinary actions.
Request Process and Requirements
Any employee or eligible former employee may request to inspect, copy, or receive personnel documents. The U of I System will grant at least two (2) requests in a calendar year. The university or system human resources office will provide the records within seven (7) working days after receiving the request. An additional seven (7) days may be granted if it is not possible to meet the deadline.
A request shall be made in writing by completing the “University of Illinois System Request to Access Employee Records” form which includes:
- Identification of the specific personnel records the employee is requesting, or a request for all allowable records;
- Specify if the employee is requesting to inspect, to copy, or to receive copies of the requested records;
- Specify whether the records should be provided in hardcopy or in an electronic format;
- Specify whether inspection, copying or receipt of copies will be performed by the employee’s representative (“representative” including family members, lawyers, union stewards, other union officials, or translators); and
- If the records being requested include any medical information or medical records, the request must include a signed waiver to release medical information and medical records to that employee’s specific representative.
The “University of Illinois System Request to Access Employee Records” form should be routed to the employee’s university or system human resources office using the appropriate email address listed below:
Chicago: uichrservicecenter@uillinois.edu
Springfield: uishr@uis.edu
Urbana-Champaign: ihr-dataops@illinois.edu
System Office: erhr@uillinois.edu
Other Provisions
If requested, the U of I System will email or mail a copy of the requested record(s) to the employee. The U of I System may charge a fee for providing a copy of the requested record. This fee will be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the requested record.
If an employee chooses to inspect their records, the inspection shall take place at the U of I System during normal working hours. Employees inspecting records are not permitted to remove any part of the record from the premises on which they are being inspected. Alternatively, the employee may elect to receive an electronic copy of their records.
Exceptions
The right of the employee or the employee's designated representative to inspect their personnel records does not apply to:
- letters of reference, both internal and external, for the employee;
- external peer review documents;
- applicant pre-employment testing documents (the employee, however, may see test scores);
- materials used for management planning. “Management planning” materials include those used in matters relating to the comments or ratings necessary for university, campus, or department planning, where the materials relate to or affect more than one employee. This exception does not apply if such materials are, have been, or are intended to be used in determining an individual employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, or benefits in determining an individual employee’s discharge or discipline, as provided above. In those cases information relative to other employees in the documents must be redacted;
- information in their files constituting an invasion of another person’s privacy;
- records relevant to a pending claim with the employee that may be obtained through judicial proceedings;
- records pertaining to a criminal investigation of an employee or employees (unless and until adverse personnel action is taken based on those records); or
- trade secrets, client lists, sales projections, and financial data;
- any other document exempted by law.
Disputes
An employee who disagrees with any information in the personnel record may seek to have that information removed or corrected. If the university or system office does not agree to remove or correct the information, the employee may submit a written statement explaining why they believe the record is wrong. This statement must be appended to the disputed material in the personnel record and circulated with that material whenever it is released to a third party.
Records Containing Disciplinary Actions
Information regarding disciplinary action, including letters of warning, may not be divulged to a third party, other than to a labor organization representing the employee, without written notice to the employee concerned. Written notice must be sent by first-class mail to the employee on or before the date the information is divulged. No notice is required if
- the employee has specifically waived notice as part of a signed employment application with another employer;
- the disclosure is ordered to a party in a legal action; or
- the information is requested by a government agency as a result of a claim or complaint by an employee or as a result of a criminal investigation by such agency.
Disciplinary records more than four (4) years old will not be released unless it is so ordered in a legal action or arbitration.
Resources
820 ILCS 40
Personnel Record Request Form