Beginning July 27, 2025, employers must also provide a copy of an employee’s personnel file to employees, former employees, or their designees within 21 calendar days of a request by an employee or their designee. The copy must be provided at no cost. For former employees or their designees requesting their personnel records, employers must provide a written statement stating the effective date of termination, and provide the reason for discharge, if any.

Employers must keep certain payroll and personnel documents for all employees. Employees have a right to request access to these records and employers are required to allow employees to inspect their own personnel file at least once a year.

Payroll and Personnel Records

Washington State law requires employers to keep employees' payroll records for at least three years. Employees have the right to request copies of these records at any reasonable time. The employer can keep the records in either an electronic and/or written format.

Payroll records must contain the employee’s:

  • Full name.
  • Home address.
  • Occupation.
  • Date of birth (for employees under 18).
  • Employment start date.
  • Time of day and day of week the employee's workweek begins.
  • Actual hours worked on a daily and weekly basis.
  • Rate(s) of pay.
  • Total wages earned (including straight time, overtime, piece work units earned, and bonuses).
  • Tips and service charges earned.
  • Addition to or deductions from wages.
  • Additional records required for paid sick leave.

You must keep additional records if you have employees under 18.

Compliance

L&I may request payroll records in the event of an investigation. If an employer fails to produce the required records, we may rely on personal records of an employee involved in the investigation.

Pay Stubs

Itemized pay statements, commonly known as “pay stubs,” are a record of a worker’s earnings in a pay period. Pay stubs must be provided either electronically or on paper each payday. If an employee cannot receive an electronic pay statement, then the employer must provide a written one.

Employers must include the following details on each pay stub:

  • The pay basis (e.g., hours or days worked, piece rate basis, or salary).
  • Rate or rates of pay.
  • Gross wages.
  • All deductions for that pay period.
  • All records required for paid sick leave.

For agricultural employers, there are additional pay stub and record keeping requirements

Protecting Employees’ Records

Privacy laws require employers to protect employees’ personally identifying, sensitive, or health-related information from unauthorized disclosure.

Reporting data breaches

Any employer with personally identifying, sensitive, or health related information must notify employees if they are affected by an actual or suspected data breach. Notification must be given to affected employees as soon as possible, unless otherwise directed by law enforcement.

If a data breach affects more than 500 people, it must be reported to the Office of the Attorney General.

See the Attorney General’s Data Breach Notifications page for more details.

Destroying records

After the required state, federal, and your businesses’ retention periods for recordkeeping end, the employer must properly dispose of or destroy employees’ payroll and personnel records.

See Chapter 19.215 RCW for full details.

Employee’s right to access

Employers must make employee personnel files available to employees, former employees, or their designees within 21 calendar days of a request by an employee or their designee. The file must be provided at no cost to them.
A personnel file may include:

  • Job application records.
  • Performance evaluations.
  • Non-active or closed disciplinary records.
  • Leave and reasonable accommodation records.
  • Payroll records.
  • Employment agreements.
  • Date of discharge or reasons for discharge.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employers from keeping medical information in an employee’s personnel record.

Employers are not required to create or provide records that are not regularly maintained by the employer as a part of their business records.

Additionally, employers are not required to:

  • Create a retention schedule for records.
  • Create personnel records.
  • Supersede Washington state or federal privacy statutes regarding nondisclosure.

Private right of action

An employee or former employee can exercise their rights through a private right of action in Superior Court. Before filing a lawsuit, the employee or former employee must give notice of an intent to sue. The employee may not start legal action until 5 calendar days after the employee provided the notice to the employer.

The statutory damages for each violation are the following:

  • $250 if the complete personnel file or the statement of discharge is not provided within 21 calendar days; 
  • $500 if the complete personnel file or the statement of discharge is not provided within 28 calendar days;
  • $1,000 if the complete personnel file or the statement of discharge is not provided within 35 calendar days;
  • $500 for any other violations.

Request employer review of personnel record

Employees can request that their employer review their personnel file annually. This includes all personnel records that are:

  • Regularly maintained by the employer as part of their business.
  • Information that can be given to persons outside of the company as a part of a “reference check.”

Any information the employer determines to be irrelevant or erroneous must be removed from the personnel file. If the employee disputes the employer’s determination, then the employee can add a statement containing a rebuttal or correction. Employees under criminal investigation do not have the right to modify their personnel record.

Reference checks

L&I has no jurisdiction over the information a business reveals for a personal or job reference, including if the business refuses to provide references at all.