Do I have legal right to access any files that my employers may keep on me? What if I no longer work there? Am I allowed to make copies of them for my own records?
It depends on what state you are in, they have their own laws regarding this.
It’s Arkansas.
It looks like the answer is no in Arkansas.
From the Arkansas Department of Labor at this site
http://www.arkansas.gov/labor/faqs/
Does my employer have to give me a copy of my personnel records?
A. Government employees can request access to their personnel records under the state Freedom of Information Act. There is no state law, however, which requires non-government employers to provide their employees access or copies of their personnel files. Non-government employees have a right to view or copy their personnel file only if company policy or an employment contract grants such a right.
Wow. This pisses me off beyond belief.
Here’s the backstory, for those interested.
I put in for a transfer from Wal-Mart A to Wal-Mart B. Store manager signs the form, and Personnel from Store A faxes things to Store B. Store B accepts me as One of Their Own. After I move to the location where Store B is located, but before I’m put into the system, Store A fires me. I have talked to EVERYONE that Wal-Mart employs, and I’m (apparently) without recourse. So I wanted to go get some copies of the signed transfer slip, the firing form, etc., and show them to HQ to see what I can have done. I guess that the best that I can do is ask for copies. Maybe if they refuse, I can lie and say that AR law requires them to give them to me, and make up some fancy acronym.
I don’t advise lying. If they aren’t completely senseless, they will check. I work with a huge corporation, and despite never having being asked by an employee to see their file, I know that I have to get involved in a long procedure with the legal department and human resources going through the file first to remove anything not legally required to release.
Is it dangerous even to ask to see your file? I mean, will HR thing that you’re contemplating legal action?
I’ve got an appointment to review my file tomorrow. I got a less than stellar review recently, but my manager couldn’t cite me specific incidents or things I’d done. So I want to see if there is anything at all, already, in my file that is derogatory.
You can definitely ask for copies. The company may choose to provide them to you. Also, it’s possible that you should have received copies of some of these forms when they were completed, per company policy. If you did not, that’s a possible angle.
Are you trying to get store B to hire you, still? If so, it may be better not to be seen as a pain in the neck. If you have no chances with store B now, you may want to file for unemployment and see what they come up with in trying to contest payment to you. Or, if you feel you were discriminated against for an illegal reason, you can try the EEOC. It is illegal for them to retaliate against you for filing a charge, if you file it in good faith. In fact, as many if not more claims are one for retaliation as for discrimination itself.
Yes, I am. And store B is (apparently) not annoyed with me, because they were fighting store A on my behalf, trying to get them to fix it. All they had to do was reactivate me in the system, and then transfer me down to B, but they refused.
The reason I’m trying to get this to go through is a pay issue. Store B starts cashiers off at 6.30/hr. I was making 8.30/hr at store A. Store B has invited me to reapply for hire at their store, but they won’t tell me how much I’d be starting out at until they can “evaluate my qualifications.”
One option would be to start with store B and if things don’t work out to your satisfaction, try a wage and hour claim with the Arkansas Dept. of Labor (assume both stores are in Arkansas?) asserting that you understood it to be a transfer at $8.30/hr. That may resolve it, or not, in which case you would probably say screw it and go somewhere else. I am not aware of any legal reason why store B would need to pay you what store A was paying, though. I am also not sure of the company’s typical transfer policy on pay, or if they address it in a policy at all. Those would be some things to look into.
[woolgathering]If you are denied unemployment, and appeal the denial, you can subpoena your employment file. http://www.arkansas.gov/esd/Appeals/A_appealsguide.htm#p17, FWIW. Unfortunately, that ship will arrive too late, if at all. Wal-Mart might simply allow the unemployment claim. If it fights, the appeal hearing is months away.[/woolgathering]
Your best bet is to talk to a lawyer. You can start looking here.
Do you have other offers? If not, what are your prospects? The fact that Store B appears willing to hire you probably kills any claim for unemployment compensation that you might otherwise have had (you should apply anyway, btw). So your best bet is to take the your current best offer. If something better comes along, you can take that job and quit Store B.
That could be a problem, if the employer doesn’t allow former employees on the premises. One former employer of mine doesn’t allow any ex-employees onsite, even those who left voluntarily and under good terms. The object, of course is to avoid someone coming in and shooting up the place after leaving, but it seems a bit over-inclusive.
Heh, if Wal-Mart did that, they’d be out of business.
Their transfer policy is to give me whatever I was making, minus the difference in base pay between the two stores. Store B has a base store pay of 5.90 vs Store A’s 6.00.