Washington's Personnel-File Law: What Employers Should Consider in Light of SHB 1308

In 2025, Washington made some significant changes to its personnel-file law through Substitute House Bill 1308 which all Washington employers and their insurers should be aware of. The new law, which took effect July 27, 2025, gives current and former employers a clearer right to obtain their personnel files and generally requires private employers to provide those records within 21 calendar days of a request. It also requires employers to provide certain information about a former employee’s discharge. Perhaps most significant is that employees now have a private right of action under this new law, which allows recovery of statutory damages, attorney fees, costs, and equitable relief when an employer fails to comply. Though the statute is now more than a year old, it has been reported that not all employers have updated their practices.

One of the biggest changes under the new personnel-file law is that missing the deadline can now cost employers financially. RCW 49.12.261 allows employees to bring a lawsuit and recover statutory damages as well as attorney fees and costs. The penalties are assessed in increasing fashion, from $250 after 21 days, to $500 after 28 days, and up to $1,000 when production is more than 35 days late. The law’s attorney fee provision is particularly important because it can provide employees an incentive to pursue even a relatively small personnel file dispute. Before filing suit, however, the employee must give the employer notice of an intent to sue, and a lawsuit for failure to provide a complete file cannot be filed until five calendar days after that notice. Employers should treat such notice as a final opportunity to investigate the request and, if necessary, fix any problems before they turn into litigation. Self-insurers in Washington should note that when personnel files are requested in the context of workers’ compensation litigation, such a failure could be used as evidence supporting decertification of self-insured status under RCW 51.14.080.

While the changes add penalties, we also now have clarification on what exactly is contained within a “personnel file.” RCW 49.12.240(2) defines personnel file to include all job application records, performance evaluations, nonactive or closed disciplinary records, leave and reasonable accommodation requests, payroll records, and employment agreements. Notably, this is an exclusive list: no other documents are considered part of the personnel file for these purposes. Although “personnel file” is now defined, the categories of documents used to define “personnel file” are not further defined within the statute. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries has begun clarifying the meaning of some of these terms, however. In an amendment to its personnel-file rule, WAC 296-126-050, set to be effective October 23, 2026, the Department has defined “payroll records” to include “records required by WAC 296-128-010 through 296-128-030 for employers subject to the Minimum Wage Act.” Such records include the employee’s, name, address, hours worked, and wages paid each pay period.

An employer is not required to create any records or retain records beyond the employer’s usual or otherwise required retention policy (ordinarily three years for payroll records), and an employer need only produce an employee’s personnel file once a year.

For former employees, an employer may also need to provide “a signed written statement to the former employee or their designee stating the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge, and if so, the reasons.” Whether this statement need only be provided when a separate request for the statement is made or whether the statement must be provided any time a personnel file is requested by a former employee is up for debate. Guidance from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries says that a statement regarding discharge must be made in conjunction with any request for a personnel file. The statute itself says, however, that an employer must provide such a statement after “receiving a written request from a former employee or their designee,” which suggests that the request for a statement must be explicit. The requirement to provide a statement is also listed separately from the requirement to provide an employee’s personnel file, suggesting that the request is separate from a request for the personnel file. With this tension between the statutory language and the Department’s guidance, it may be advisable to provide a written statement whenever a request for personnel file is made by a separated employee. However, there is an argument to be made based on the statutory text that providing the statement is only required when a direct request for the statement is made.

There is also some ambiguity in who must sign the written statement. Must the employer itself sign the statement, or may the statement be provided and signed by the employer’s attorney? The law does not explicitly require the employer to sign the statement, but the statement must be the employer’s. A conservative approach would be to obtain the employer’s signature on the statement.

For employers wishing to get ahead of a request, reviewing current record organization and filing practices to align with the law would be ideal. For example, ensuring that personnel files for employees include the categories within the definition, to the extent such documents are kept to begin with. For employers who have received a request and have not already organized their files to facilitate a quick response, it will be crucial to begin working on a response as soon as the request is received, since 21 days is a short clock. It may be best not to overproduce so as to retain a clean file that is compliant with the law but without unnecessary documents in order to reduce chances of further liability.