Putting an end to an employer’s previous conundrum of determining what constitutes “recently” separated when evaluating a former employee’s request to review his or her personnel file, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that terminated employees are not entitled to inspect their personnel files.
In Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, a former employee filed a request with her former employer to view her personnel files within one week of her termination. Believing the employee was not entitled to view her files because she was no longer an employee, the employer denied her request. The employee filed a complaint with the state’s Department of Labor seeking to access her records under the Pennsylvania Inspection of Employment Records Law (“Act”).
At the heart of the Court’s analysis was the definition of the term “employee.” Until this decision, the definition of employee had been interpreted to include “recently” terminated employees. What was not clear, however, was how recent the termination had to be to constitute “recently” terminated. Relying on basic principles of interpretation, the Court determined that interpreting “employee” to include recently terminated employees was too broad.
Under the Act, an employee is defined as “[a]ny person currently employed, laid off with reemployment rights or on leave of absence.” Excluded from the definition are “applicants for employment or any other person.” The Court also examined the plain meaning of the term “currently,” which is defined as “now, at the present moment.” It determined that including those “recently terminated” was at odds with the dictionary definition of “currently.” Ultimately, the Court concluded, “[t]he term ‘currently employed’ cannot mean both presently employed and formerly employed.”
Coverage: Employers with employees in Pennsylvania.
Effective: The Court issued its opinion on June 29, 2017.
Action Required: You no longer need to evaluate how recently an employee was terminated from employment when receiving a request from a former employee to review his or her personnel file.
Produced in cooperation with Jackson Lewis P.C.