Committee advances proposed substitute on personnel-file access after rejecting several narrowing amendments

The proposed substitute to House Bill 1308, addressing employee access to personnel files, was reported out of committee with a due-pass recommendation on a 6–3 vote after extensive debate and multiple unsuccessful line-amendment attempts.

Staff summarized the proposed substitute: for employers not subject to the Public Records Act, an employer must provide an employee or former employee a copy of the personnel file within 21 days of request and provide a former employee, upon request, a statement of the discharge date and reasons, if any, for the discharge. The proposed substitute would make those specific provisions apply only to employers not subject to the Public Records Act; employers subject to the Public Records Act must follow Public Records Act procedures for responding to…