Minnesota: Employee Personnel File Access Requirements

Requirements one by one

Who may ask and what is covered

Minn. Stat. § 181.960 defines an employee as someone whose hired services were
performed predominantly in Minnesota and includes a person separated from the
job for less than one year. Independent contractors and public employees whose
employers are subject to chapter 13 are outside this private-sector scheme.

The covered record is a detailed statutory list: applications, pay history,
commendation, warning, discipline and termination notices, deduction
authorizations, benefit and leave information, attendance, evaluations, job
titles, promotions, transfers, other employment changes, and retirement records.

Request, deadline, location, and free copy

The request must be written. Under § 181.961, a current employee ordinarily may
review once every six months. A separated employee may review once each year for
as long as the employer maintains the record.

The employer has 7 working days when the record is in Minnesota and 14 working
days when it is outside the state. A current worker reviews during the employer's
normal operating hours at the workplace or another reasonably nearby location;
the employer may supervise. After review and another written request, the current
employee receives a copy. A separated worker instead receives the copy directly,
which satisfies the review duty. The copy is free.

Correction and five-page position statement

The parties may agree to remove or revise specific disputed information. If they
do not, § 181.962 lets the employee submit a written position statement of no
more than five pages. It must remain with the disputed information while that
information stays in the record and must be supplied to anyone who later
receives the disputed material.

Exclusions and remedies

The exclusions are broad. They include references, investigations until the
statutory completion and adverse-action conditions are met, most testing
material, employer planning, third-party private information, sole-possession
supervisor notes, privileged or nondiscoverable material, coworker-identifying
statements, and medical files.

Minn. Stat. § 181.964 prohibits retaliation. Minn. Stat. § 181.965 allows a civil action to
compel compliance within one year of discovering the violation. An access or
record-handling violation permits actual damages and costs; retaliation can add
back pay, reinstatement or other make-whole equitable relief, and reasonable
attorney fees.

What trips people up

The file's physical location changes the deadline. Seven working days applies
only when the personnel record is located in Minnesota; an out-of-state record
gets 14 working days.

“Former employee” works on two timelines. The definition expressly includes a
person separated for less than one year, while the review provision separately
allows one annual review after separation for as long as the record is
maintained. The latter language preserves the annual review route even after the
first post-separation year.

An employer may deny a request it proves was not made in good faith. The burden
is on the employer, not the employee, to establish that exception.

Common questions

Can the employer charge me for the copy?

No. Section 181.961 subd. 2(d) says the employer may not charge a copy fee.

Can I see an active investigation?

Usually not. Investigation information remains excluded until the investigation
and any criminal process are complete and the employer takes adverse personnel
action based on it.

Will my rebuttal go to a later reference recipient?

If the employer releases the disputed information, it must also provide the
employee's attached position statement.

Statutes and sources

• Minn. Stat. § 181.960 subds. 2-4: covered employees and employers, included
  record categories, and exclusions —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Minn. Stat. § 181.961: written request, frequency, 7/14-working-day deadlines,
  review location, free copies, and good-faith exception —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Minn. Stat. § 181.962: correction by agreement and five-page position statement
  — official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Minn. Stat. §§ 181.964-.965: retaliation ban, civil relief, and one-year limit —
  official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).