Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §631, as amended by PL 1997, c. 420, §1, is further amended to read:

§631. Employee right to review personnel file

The employer shall, upon written request from an employee or former employee, provide the employee, former employee or duly authorized representative with an opportunity to review and copy the employee's personnel file if the employer has a personnel file for that employee. The reviews and copying must take place at the location where the personnel files are maintained and during normal office hours unless, at the employer's discretion, a more convenient time and location for the employee are arranged. The cost of copying is paid by the person requesting the copy. For the purpose of this section, a personnel file includes, but is not limited to, any formal or informal employee evaluations and reports relating to the employee's character, credit, work habits, compensation and benefits and nonprivileged medical records or nurses' station notes relating to the employee that the employer has in the employer's possession. Records in a personnel file may be maintained in any form including paper, microfiche or electronic form.__The employer shall take adequate steps to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of these records. Any employer who, following a request pursuant to this section, without good cause fails to provide an opportunity for review and copying of a personnel file, within 10 days of receipt of that request, is subject to a civil forfeiture of $25 for each day that a failure continues. The total forfeiture may not exceed $500. An employee or former employee may bring an action in the District Court or the Superior Court for such equitable relief, including an injunction, as the court may consider to be necessary and proper. The employer may also be required to reimburse the employee or former employee for costs of suit including a reasonable attorney's fee if the employee receives a judgment in the employee's favor. For the purposes of this section, the term "nonprivileged medical records or nurses' station notes" means all those materials that have not been found to be protected from discovery or disclosure in the course of civil litigation under the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26, the Maine Rules of Evidence, Article V or similar rules adopted by the Workers' Compensation Board or other administrative tribunals.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that records in a personnel file may be maintained in any form including paper, microfiche or electronic form. An employer shall take adequate steps to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of these records.