§ 153A-98. Privacy of employee personnel records.
§ 153A‑98. Privacy ofemployee personnel records.
(a) Notwithstanding theprovisions of G.S. 132‑6 or any other general law or local act concerningaccess to public records, personnel files of employees, former employees, orapplicants for employment maintained by a county are subject to inspection andmay be disclosed only as provided by this section. For purposes of thissection, an employee's personnel file consists of any information in any formgathered by the county with respect to that employee and, by way ofillustration but not limitation, relating to his application, selection ornonselection, performance, promotions, demotions, transfers, suspension andother disciplinary actions, evaluation forms, leave, salary, and termination ofemployment. As used in this section, "employee" includes formeremployees of the county.
(b) The followinginformation with respect to each county employee is a matter of public record:name; age; date of original employment or appointment to the county service;the terms of any contract by which the employee is employed whether written ororal, past and current, to the extent that the county has the written contractor a record of the oral contract in its possession; current position title;current salary; date and amount of the most recent increase or decrease insalary; date of the most recent promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension,separation or other change in position classification; and the office to whichthe employee is currently assigned. For the purposes of this subsection, theterm "salary" includes pay, benefits, incentives, bonuses, anddeferred and all other forms of compensation paid by the employing entity. Theboard of county commissioners shall determine in what form and by whom thisinformation will be maintained. Any person may have access to this informationfor the purpose of inspection, examination, and copying, during regularbusiness hours, subject only to such rules and regulations for the safekeepingof public records as the board of commissioners may have adopted. Any persondenied access to this information may apply to the appropriate division of theGeneral Court of Justice for an order compelling disclosure, and the courtshall have jurisdiction to issue such orders.
(c) All information containedin a county employee's personnel file, other than the information made publicby subsection (b) of this section, is confidential and shall be open toinspection only in the following instances:
(1) The employee or hisduly authorized agent may examine all portions of his personnel file except (i)letters of reference solicited prior to employment, and (ii) informationconcerning a medical disability, mental or physical, that a prudent physicianwould not divulge to his patient.
(2) A licensed physiciandesignated in writing by the employee may examine the employee's medicalrecord.
(3) A county employeehaving supervisory authority over the employee may examine all material in theemployee's personnel file.
(4) By order of a courtof competent jurisdiction, any person may examine such portion of an employee'spersonnel file as may be ordered by the court.
(5) An official of anagency of the State or federal government, or any political subdivision of theState, may inspect any portion of a personnel file when such inspection isdeemed by the official having custody of such records to be inspected to benecessary and essential to the pursuance of a proper function of the inspectingagency, but no information shall be divulged for the purpose of assisting in acriminal prosecution of the employee, or for the purpose of assisting in aninvestigation of the employee's tax liability. However, the official havingcustody of such records may release the name, address, and telephone numberfrom a personnel file for the purpose of assisting in a criminal investigation.
(6) An employee may signa written release, to be placed with his personnel file, that permits theperson with custody of the file to provide, either in person, by telephone, orby mail, information specified in the release to prospective employers,educational institutions, or other persons specified in the release.
(7) The county manager,with concurrence of the board of county commissioners, or, in counties nothaving a manager, the board of county commissioners may inform any person ofthe employment or nonemployment, promotion, demotion, suspension or otherdisciplinary action, reinstatement, transfer, or termination of a countyemployee and the reasons for that personnel action. Before releasing theinformation, the manager or board shall determine in writing that the releaseis essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of countyservices or to maintaining the level and quality of county services. Thiswritten determination shall be retained in the office of the manager or thecounty clerk, is a record available for public inspection and shall become partof the employee's personnel file.
(c1) Even if consideredpart of an employee's personnel file, the following information need not bedisclosed to an employee nor to any other person:
(1) Testing orexamination material used solely to determine individual qualifications forappointment, employment, or promotion in the county's service, when disclosurewould compromise the objectivity or the fairness of the testing or examinationprocess.
(2) Investigativereports or memoranda and other information concerning the investigation ofpossible criminal actions of an employee, until the investigation is completedand no criminal action taken, or until the criminal action is concluded.
(3) Information thatmight identify an undercover law enforcement officer or a law enforcementinformer.
(4) Notes, preliminarydrafts and internal communications concerning an employee. In the event suchmaterials are used for any official personnel decision, then the employee orhis duly authorized agent shall have a right to inspect such materials.
(c2) The board of countycommissioners may permit access, subject to limitations they may impose, to selectedpersonnel files by a professional representative of a training, research, oracademic institution if that person certifies that he will not releaseinformation identifying the employees whose files are opened and that theinformation will be used solely for statistical, research, or teachingpurposes. This certification shall be retained by the county as long as eachpersonnel file so examined is retained.
(c3) Notwithstanding anyprovision of this section to the contrary, the Retirement Systems Division ofthe Department of State Treasurer may disclose the name and mailing address offormer local governmental employees to domiciled, nonprofit organizationsrepresenting 2,000 or more active or retired State government, localgovernment, or public school employees.
(d) The board ofcommissioners of a county that maintains personnel files containing informationother than the information mentioned in subsection (b) of this section shallestablish procedures whereby an employee who objects to material in his file ongrounds that it is inaccurate or misleading may seek to have the materialremoved from the file or may place in the file a statement relating to thematerial.
(e) A public officialor employee who knowingly, willfully, and with malice permits any person tohave access to information contained in a personnel file, except as ispermitted by this section, is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and uponconviction shall only be fined an amount not more than five hundred dollars($500.00).
(f) Any person, notspecifically authorized by this section to have access to a personnel filedesignated as confidential, who shall knowingly and willfully examine in itsofficial filing place, remove or copy any portion of a confidential personnelfile shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and upon conviction shall only befined in the discretion of the court but not in excess of five hundred dollars($500.00). (1975,c. 701, s. 1; 1981, c. 926, ss. 1, 5‑8; 1993, c. 539, ss. 1059, 1060;1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2007‑508, s. 6; 2008‑194, s.11(d).)