§ 162A-6.1. Privacy of employee personnel records. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 162A‑6.1.  Privacy ofemployee personnel records.

(a)        Notwithstanding theprovisions of G.S. 132‑6 or any other law concerning access to publicrecords, personnel files of employees, former employees, or applicants foremployment maintained by an authority are subject to inspection and may bedisclosed only as provided by this section. For purposes of this section, anemployee's personnel file consists of any information in any form gathered bythe authority with respect to that employee and, by way of illustration but notlimitation, relating to his application, selection or nonselection,performance, promotions, demotions, transfers, suspension and otherdisciplinary actions, evaluation forms, leave, salary, and termination ofemployment. As used in this section, "employee" includes formeremployees of the authority.

(b)        The followinginformation with respect to each authority employee is a matter of publicrecord: name; age; date of original employment or appointment to the service;the terms of any contract by which the employee is employed whether written ororal, past and current, to the extent that the authority has the writtencontract or a record of the oral contract in its possession; current positiontitle; current salary; date and amount of the most recent increase or decreasein salary; date of the most recent promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension,separation, or other change in position classification; and the office to whichthe employee is currently assigned. For the purposes of this subsection, theterm "salary" includes pay, benefits, incentives, bonuses, anddeferred and all other forms of compensation paid by the employing entity. Theauthority shall determine in what form and by whom this information will bemaintained. Any person may have access to this information for the purpose ofinspection, examination, and copying, during regular business hours, subjectonly to such rules and regulations for the safekeeping of public records as theauthority may have adopted. Any person denied access to this information mayapply to the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice for an ordercompelling disclosure, and the court shall have jurisdiction to issue suchorders.

(c)        All informationcontained in an authority employee's personnel file, other than the informationmade public by subsection (b) of this section, is confidential and shall beopen to inspection only in the following instances:

(1)        The employee or hisduly authorized agent may examine all portions of his personnel file except (i)letters of reference solicited prior to employment, and (ii) informationconcerning a medical disability, mental or physical, that a prudent physicianwould not divulge to his patient.

(2)        A licensed physiciandesignated in writing by the employee may examine the employee's medicalrecord.

(3)        An authorityemployee having supervisory authority over the employee may examine allmaterial in the employee's personnel file.

(4)        By order of a courtof competent jurisdiction, any person may examine such portion of an employee'spersonnel file as may be ordered by the court.

(5)        An official of anagency of the State or federal government, or any political subdivision of theState, may inspect any portion of a personnel file when such inspection isdeemed by the official having custody of such records to be inspected to benecessary and essential to the pursuance of a proper function of the inspectingagency, but no information shall be divulged for the purpose of assisting in acriminal prosecution (of the employee), or for the purpose of assisting in aninvestigation of (the employee's) tax liability. However, the official havingcustody of such records may release the name, address, and telephone numberfrom a personnel file for the purpose of assisting in a criminal investigation.

(6)        An employee may signa written release, to be placed with his personnel file, that permits theperson with custody of the file to provide, either in person, by telephone, orby mail, information specified in the release to prospective employers,educational institutions, or other persons specified in the release.

(7)        The chiefadministrative officer, with concurrence of the authority, may inform anyperson of the employment or nonemployment, promotion, demotion, suspension orother disciplinary action, reinstatement, transfer, or termination of anauthority employee and the reasons for that personnel action. Before releasingthe information, the chief administrative officer or authority shall determinein writing that the release is essential to maintaining public confidence inthe administration of authority services or to maintaining the level andquality of authority services. This written determination shall be retained inthe office of the chief administrative officer or the secretary of theauthority, and is a record available for public inspection and shall becomepart of the employee's personnel file.

(d)        Even if consideredpart of an employee's personnel file, the following information need not bedisclosed to an employee nor to any other person:

(1)        Testing orexamination material used solely to determine individual qualifications forappointment, employment, or promotion in the authority's service, whendisclosure would compromise the objectivity or the fairness of the testing orexamination process.

(2)        Investigativereports or memoranda and other information concerning the investigation ofpossible criminal actions of an employee, until the investigation is completedand no criminal action taken, or until the criminal action is concluded.

(3)        Information thatmight identify an undercover law enforcement officer or a law enforcementinformer.

(4)        Notes, preliminarydrafts, and internal communications concerning an employee. In the event suchmaterials are used for any official personnel decision, then the employee orhis duly authorized agent shall have a right to inspect such materials.

(e)        The authority maypermit access, subject to limitations it may impose, to selected personnelfiles by a professional representative of a training, research, or academicinstitution if that person certifies that that person will not releaseinformation identifying the employees whose files are opened and that theinformation will be used solely for statistical, research, or teaching purposes.This certification shall be retained by the authority as long as each personnelfile examined is retained.

(f)         An authority thatmaintains personnel files containing information other than the informationmentioned in subsection (b) of this section shall establish procedures wherebyan employee, who objects to material in his file on grounds that it isinaccurate or misleading, may seek to have the material removed from the fileor may place in the file a statement relating to the material.

(g)        A public officialor employee who knowingly, willfully, and with malice permits any person tohave access to information contained in a personnel file, except as ispermitted by this section, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and is punishableonly by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).

(h)        Any person notspecifically authorized by this section to have access to a personnel filedesignated as confidential, who shall:

(1)        Knowingly andwillfully examine in its official filing place; or

(2)        Remove or copy

any portion of a confidentialpersonnel file shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and is punishable onlyby a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00). (1993, c. 505, s. 1; 1994,Ex. Sess., c. 14, ss. 69, 70; 2007‑508, s. 8.)