Parents' rights
My 17 year old daughter is currently employed with a fast food chain. I have asked and been denied the right to look at her personnel file. As a parent of a minor child do I have the right to look at her file?
Answers (1)
B elieve it or not, you do not have the right to look at your own personnel file.
Ohio law treats personnel files as the employer's property. An employer is therefore free to gather and keep whatever information it wants to about its employees, so long as not intruding into their privacy. The employer has no legal obligation to share that information with anyone, including the employee it is about.
As a practical matter, most employers understand that their employees want to know what is in their personnel file and will allow them to see what is in them. As a result, the common perception is that an employee is "entitled" to see her own file. You thus may be able to gain access to your daughter's personnel file by having her ask for the opportunity to review it. As for getting access to it yourself, if the employer says no, then you have little legal recourse to force them to open it up to you.
Regards,
Neil.
posted by Neil Klingshirn | Dec 30, 2002 09:07 AM [EST]
Ohio law treats personnel files as the employer's property. An employer is therefore free to gather and keep whatever information it wants to about its employees, so long as not intruding into their privacy. The employer has no legal obligation to share that information with anyone, including the employee it is about.
As a practical matter, most employers understand that their employees want to know what is in their personnel file and will allow them to see what is in them. As a result, the common perception is that an employee is "entitled" to see her own file. You thus may be able to gain access to your daughter's personnel file by having her ask for the opportunity to review it. As for getting access to it yourself, if the employer says no, then you have little legal recourse to force them to open it up to you.
Regards,
Neil.
posted by Neil Klingshirn | Dec 30, 2002 09:07 AM [EST]
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