Removing written reprimands from personnel file

Atomic · December 2001

I have just joined an organization that has a policy that the employee may request removal of written reprimands after one year provided no further disciplinary actions have occurred during the period and the removal must be granted by the supervisor. Somehow this just doesn't seem right, as the personnel file is the record of employment for the employee. Anybody have any justification, either way, to assist me? Thanks

Down_the_Middle · December 2001

This varies among organizations and while a strong argument can be made both ways, my personal preference is to NOT allow a sunset provision for disciplinary actions. I believe if it was important enough to be placed in the pers file, that it should remmain there. While some view that "old paperwork" shouldn't be used to contaminate the reader, I think it also serves as a PLUS---by showing that no addt'l action was needed. I don't think I'd go to battle over the current policy, understanding the rationale has greater significance.

Gar · December 2001

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-28-01 AT 01:17PM (CST)[/font][p]It depends on the employer because I've seen it done both ways. In a large corporation I previously worked for, disciplinary action documentation was removed from employees' personnel files if they kept their noses clean for 6 years. However, the supervisor who wrote the document kept a copy of it in his/her supervisor or working file as long as he/she liked. In my current assignment (local government), disciplinary action documentation stays in employees' personnel files for keeps. This has been a irritant to employees who got into trouble early in their careers but cleaned up their act and became model employees.

Hatchetman · December 2001

In the governmental jurisdiction I work in, employees may have removed from their official personnel file the actual reprimand two years after issuance (assuming a grievance did not overturn it). However, if the reprimand is referenced in the performance evaluation for that period of time, the reference MAY NOT be removed, even though the actual reprimand may be.

Clearly, it is to the advantage of the employee to keep his or her nose clean. And even then the employee is not off the hook if the reference is in the evaluation. This puts some pressure on the employee to clean up the act immediately so that the supervisor may seriously consider not referencing the reprimand in the evaluation, as a form of reinforced encouragement. By the way, the reprimand is our second level of written discipline: there is a "lower level" written warning which may be removed after one year from office files.

jed · December 2001

Cancelling reprimands or reducing them to a lower level in a progressive disciplinary system is reasonable based on the passage of time, without further discipline applied. However, documentation should not be removed because, for example, in the event of an act of violence or harassment it would be beneficial to have a record because of the liability to a company. Should a former employee be in a situation resulting in a violent act the company could be liable in legal action because they did not report, through a reference check, that the individual had such a background. Without a record there might be no knowledge of the action.

Mutagawa · December 2001

My thoughts are that written reprimands should never be completely removed from the personnel file. At my previous employer, written warnings had a 90-day expiration date. If the employee successfully corrected the problem within that timeframe, they would be released from written warning. However, the warning would stay in the file in case there were future issues of the same nature (even after a year). In case the employee ever applied for an internal transfer, we would let the hiring supervisor view and consider only the last 12 months worth of performance documentation, including evaluations and any written warnings.

Removing written reprimands from personnel file

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