What Belongs in a California Personnel File in 2026
For a printable one-page version of these rules, download our free California personnel file checklist.
SB 513 took effect January 1, 2026. It adds education and training records to the personnel records employees can inspect under Labor Code section 1198.5, and it sets required contents for those records. Seven months in, employers have had time to receive the first inspection requests that include training records. This update covers what the law requires, plus two other 2026 recordkeeping rules whose deadlines have already passed.
What California Law Actually Requires
Under Labor Code section 1198.5, every current and former employee has the right to inspect and receive a copy of the personnel records their employer maintains. The statute covers records relating to the employee's performance or to any grievance concerning the employee. California doesn't provide an exhaustive list, so employers are expected to use judgment about what falls within that definition. Most HR professionals include job applications, offer letters, performance reviews, written warnings, attendance records, and termination paperwork. If it relates to how an employee performed or a grievance they filed, it probably belongs in the file.
SB 513 removed one long-standing gray area. Education and training records are now explicitly part of the definition. If you maintain training documentation, whether for legally required programs like sexual harassment prevention or for voluntary development, those records must be produced on request.
Training Records Are Now Personnel Records
Any education or training record you maintain must now include five elements: the employee's name, the name of the training provider, the date and duration of the training, the core competencies covered (including skills in equipment or software), and any resulting certification or qualification.
The change came from a real problem. After a Southern California refinery closed, workers struggled to prove their qualifications to new employers because they couldn't access documentation of the training they'd received. SB 513 gives employees portable proof of their skills.
One important nuance: the law doesn't require employers to start maintaining training records if they don't already. It requires that any records you do keep contain the specified information and be producible on request. Some counsel read the statute more strictly, as an affirmative duty to maintain these records, so the conservative move is to document training with the five elements as a matter of course. Many California employers already track training for Cal/OSHA and harassment-prevention requirements, so in practice the law reaches most workplaces.
What Goes In and What Stays Out
Build the file the same way for every employee. Employment documents form the foundation: signed offer letters, job descriptions, policy and handbook acknowledgments, and any employment agreements. Performance records come next: annual reviews, performance improvement plans, written warnings, disciplinary notices, and commendations. Compensation records track pay rate changes, bonus determinations, and promotion paperwork. Training records, with the five SB 513 elements, are now explicitly included. Attendance and leave records round out the file.
Knowing what to keep separate matters just as much. Medical records go in a confidential file, never the general personnel file. That includes doctor's notes, FMLA paperwork, accommodation requests, and anything related to workers' compensation claims; the ADA and several California laws require this separation. I-9 forms have their own storage requirements and should never sit with personnel records. Investigation notes typically stay out of the file unless they result in documented discipline. Records relating to criminal investigations are excluded from inspection rights under section 1198.5. Background-check reports, pre-employment reference notes, and credit reports belong in a separate confidential file.
New for 2026: demographic data collected for California pay data reporting must be stored separately from personnel records under SB 464. The same bill expanded reporting from 10 job categories to 23 and added mandatory penalties when the Civil Rights Department requests them: $100 per employee for a first failure and $200 per employee for subsequent failures. If your pay data workbook lives in the same folder as your personnel files, move it.
SB 294: Workplace Notices and Emergency Contacts
SB 294, the Workplace Know Your Rights Act, added obligations with deadlines earlier this year. A stand-alone written notice of workplace rights was due to all current employees by February 1, 2026, and must go to new hires and be repeated annually. By March 30, 2026, employers had to give each employee the opportunity to designate an emergency contact and to say whether that contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained at work.
The recordkeeping piece: employers must keep proof of compliance for 3 years, including the date each notice was provided. Penalties run up to $500 per employee per violation, capped at $10,000 per employee. If either deadline slipped past you, distribute now and log the dates.
Responding to Requests and Retention Rules
When an employee submits a written request for their personnel file, you have 30 calendar days to provide access, extendable to 35 days by written agreement. Former employees can make one request per year. The inspection must happen at reasonable times and intervals. For current employees, make records available at their workplace or wherever the files are stored, without docking pay for off-site review time. For former employees, you can mail copies and charge the actual reproduction cost. You may verify the identity of anyone making a request, and anyone claiming to act as an employee's representative can be asked for written authorization.
Missing the deadline costs a $750 civil penalty per violation, and the employee can seek injunctive relief and recover attorney's fees.
On retention, Government Code section 12946 requires employers to keep personnel records for at least 4 years from the date they were created or received. SB 807 extended this from 3 years in 2022 to match the longer statute of limitations for discrimination complaints. If an employee files a complaint with the Civil Rights Department, the retention obligation extends until the complaint is fully resolved, including appeals. Keep personnel files for at least 4 years after termination, and longer if litigation looks possible.
Where Timewave Fits In
Timewave records training completion with the five elements SB 513 requires: employee name, trainer, date and duration, competencies covered, and resulting certification. When a records request arrives, the export takes minutes.
The employers who struggle with the 30-day deadline are usually the ones with records spread across paper files, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems. One system holding time, attendance, and training records makes the deadline routine.
If you haven't audited your files since SB 513 took effect, do it now. Confirm training records contain the required elements, move pay data demographics out of personnel files, and check that your SB 294 notices went out with the dates logged. Download the checklist and work through it file by file.