Committee hears testimony on bill to require employers to provide personnel files within 21 days

House Bill 1308 would define which employer records count as a personnel file, require employers to provide a copy at no cost within 21 calendar days of a request, and create a private cause of action with statutory damages and attorney fees, committee staff said at a Jan. 22 public hearing of the Labor & Workplace Standards Committee.

The bill matters, proponents said, because current state law — administered by the Department of Labor and Industries — obliges employers to make personnel files available for inspection but lacks an effective enforcement mechanism. "This is really honestly a bill about simple fairness," Representative Julia Reed, the bill's prime sponsor, told the committee, saying the measure gives workers access to records that affect benefits, appeals and future employment.

Supporters described specific provisions and harms. Kelly Leonard, staff to the committee, said the bill clarifies what documents count as a personnel file and would require employers to provide a copy within 21 calendar days; Leonard noted the department has interpreted a "reasonable" time as 10 days under current practice. Jesse Wing, a lawyer speaking for the Washington Employment Lawyers Association, said many employers do not comply and urged the committee to "put teeth…