Current Status Bill Number:1045 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19960123 Primary Sponsor:Giese All Sponsors:Giese Drafted Document Number:bbm\10502jm.96 Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee 12 SLCI Subject:Employee right to personnel file records
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19960123 Introduced, read first time, 12 SLCI
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 41-1-110 SO AS TO ESTABLISH FOR A PERSON EMPLOYED BY AN ORGANIZATION OR ENTITY DOING BUSINESS IN THIS STATE THE RIGHT TO EXAMINE OR OBTAIN, OR BOTH EXAMINE AND OBTAIN, COPIES OF ALL OF THE CONTENTS OF HIS PERSONNEL FILE AS MAINTAINED BY THAT ORGANIZATION OR ENTITY, PROVIDE FOR FEES FOR DEFRAYING THE COST OF GRANTING ACCESS TO SUCH PERSONNEL FILE OR MAKING COPIES, PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN FINES WHICH MAY BE LEVIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING, AND REGULATION, AND PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly recognizes that a person employed by an organization or entity doing business in South Carolina has the inherent right to examine or obtain, or both examine and obtain, copies of the contents of his own personnel file at any reasonable time. Therefore, the intent of this act is to establish this employee right and to set forth guidelines for that right. The purpose and intent of this act is the same that applies to citizen rights governing access to credit files for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and completeness of such files.
SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 41-1-110. Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 25 of this title or any other provision of law:
(1) A person employed in any manner by an organization or entity doing business in this State may, upon such person's request, either written or verbal, examine or obtain, or both examine and obtain, copies of all of the contents of his personnel file maintained by that organization or entity.
(2) The request must be made during normal business hours of the organization or entity and must be complied with by the organization or entity within seventy-two hours after receipt of the request.
(3) The employing organization or entity, in complying with the request, shall provide the person his file in its entirety with no information removed, edited, expunged, or otherwise altered.
(4) The right of access to a personnel file, as provided by this section, continues for a period not to exceed seven years after the employer-employee relationship between the organization or entity and the person has ended.
(5) The organization or entity may, in its discretion, charge the person making the request an amount not to exceed ten dollars to defray the cost of granting access to the personnel file or making copies.
(6) For purposes of this section, `employee' means the same as the criteria used by the South Carolina Department of Revenue and Taxation in determining the liability for such person's payment of income taxes to the State of South Carolina.
(7) The term `employing organization or entity doing business in this State' means, for the purposes of this section, the same as the criteria used by the South Carolina Department of Revenue and Taxation in determining the liability of such organization or entity for the payment of business income taxes to the State of South Carolina. Even if the employing organization or entity is a nonresident of South Carolina, the fact that the organization or entity employs residents of the State of South Carolina automatically makes such nonresident organization or entity subject to the provisions of this section. In like manner any employing organization or entity which is a resident of this State and employs persons who reside outside the borders of the State of South Carolina is subject to the provisions of this section, and those employed persons residing outside the borders of the State of South Carolina have the same right of access as those employed persons who are residents of this State.
(8) If any employing organization or entity fails to comply with the request authorized pursuant to item (1) within the designated time provided by item (2), the person making the request may, upon furnishing proof of written notice to the organization or entity, file a complaint with the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, which may, in its discretion, levy a fine against the organization or entity not to exceed two hundred dollars a day for every day the organization or entity fails to comply with the request. All fines levied and collected pursuant to this item (8) must be remitted by the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation to the State Treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the State. However, nothing contained in this item (8) shall be construed to deny any employing organization or entity its rights or remedies under law."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 1995.