ILCS » Chapter 820 · Act 40

820 ILCS 40/2

Open records

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(820 ILCS 40/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 2002)
    Sec. 2. Open records.
    (a) Upon request in writing to their employer, every employee has a right under this Act to inspect, copy, and receive copies of the following documents:
        (1) any personnel documents which are, have been or
    
are intended to be used in determining that employee's qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action, except as provided in Section 10;
        (2) any employment-related contracts or agreements
    
that the employer maintains are legally binding on the employee;
        (3) any employee handbooks that the employer made
    
available to the employee or that the employee acknowledged receiving; and
        (4) any written employer policies or procedures that
    
the employer contends the employee was subject to and that concern qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, discharge, or other disciplinary action.
    The inspection right encompasses personnel documents in the possession of a person, corporation, partnership, or other association having a contractual agreement with the employer to keep or supply a personnel record. An employee does not have a right under this Act to the documents categorized in Section 10.
    (b) The employer, upon an employee's written request, shall grant at least 2 requests in a calendar year to inspect, copy, and receive copies of records to which that employee has a right under this Act. Requests shall be:
        (1) made at reasonable intervals, unless otherwise
    
provided in a collective bargaining agreement; and
        (2) made to a person responsible for maintaining the
    
employer's personnel records, including the employer's human resources department, payroll department, the employee's supervisor or department manager, or to an individual as provided in the employer's written policy.
    (c) A written request shall:
        (1) identify what personnel records the employee is
    
requesting or if the employee is requesting all of the records allowed to be requested under this Section;
        (2) specify if the employee is requesting to inspect,
    
copy, or receive copies of the records;
        (3) specify whether records be provided in hardcopy
    
or in a reasonable and commercially available electronic format;
        (4) specify whether inspection, copying, or receipt
    
of copies will be performed by that employee's representative, including family members, lawyers, union stewards, other union officials, or translators; and
        (5) if the records being requested include medical
    
information and medical records, include a signed waiver to release medical information and medical records to that employee's specific representative.
    (d) The employer shall comply with the employee's request within 7 working days after the receipt of the request, or, if the employer can reasonably show that such deadline cannot be met, the employer shall have an additional 7 calendar days to comply. If an employer does not maintain records in one or more of the categories requested, the employer may respond in writing notifying the employee that the employer does not maintain records in the category, but must still permit inspection, copying, and receipt of copies as required by subsection (b) of any other category requested as to which the employer does maintain records. If the records are maintained in a manner and fashion that is already accessible by the employee, the employer may instead provide the employee with instructions on how to access that information. Any in-person inspection shall take place at a location reasonably near the employee's place of employment and during normal working hours. The employer may allow the inspection to take place at a time other than working hours or at a place other than where the records are maintained if that time or place would be more convenient for the employee. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a requirement that an employee be permitted to remove any part of such personnel records or any part of such records from the place on the employer's premises where it is made available for inspection. Each employer shall retain the right to protect his records from loss, damage, or alteration to ensure the integrity of the records. The employer shall, upon the employee's written request, email or mail a copy of the requested record to the employee by the email address or mailing address identified by the employee for the purpose of receiving the copy of requested record. An employer may charge a fee for providing a copy of the requested record. The fee shall be limited to the actual cost of duplicating the requested record and may not include the imputed costs of time spent duplicating the information, the purchase or rental of copying machines, the purchase or rental of computer equipment, the purchase, rental, or licensing of software, or any other similar expenses.
    (e) As used in this Section, "written request" includes any electronic communications, such as email or text messages.
(Source: P.A. 103-201, eff. 1-1-24; 103-727, eff. 1-1-25.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2002–2025 · leading case: Yu Jung Park v. City of Chicago
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Yu Jung Park v. City of Chicago (2002) ca7 “See 820 ILCS 40/2, 40/12. In particular, if an employer withholds personnel records from the employee, the Illinois Record Act prohibits the employer from using these documents against the employee in a judicial proceeding unless a judge determines that: (1) the failure to turn…”
Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200 (2009) ill “Relying on section 2 of the Personnel Record Review Act (820 ILCS 40/2 (West 2002)), the appellate court stated: “Given its plain and ordinary meaning, a ‘personnel file’ can reasonably be expected to include documents such as a resume or application, an employment contract,…”
Gekas v. Williamson (2009) illappct “The Personnel Record Review Act Defendant cites section 2 of the Personnel Record Review Act (820 ILCS 40/2 (West 2006)), which provides: “Every employer shall, upon an employee’s request[,] *** permit the employee to inspect any personnel documents which are, have been[,] or…”
Copley Press, Inc. v. Board of Education (2005) illappct “See generally 820 ILCS 40/2 (West 2002) (personnel records include any documents which “have been or are intended to be used in determining [an] employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge or other disciplinary action”).”
Harrison v. Deere and Company (2014) illappct · cites it 7× “¶4 In this, the third case, Harrison claimed violations by Deere of the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act (the Act) (820 ILCS 40/2, 9 (West 2008)) when Deere assembled an investigative record of his associations, communications, and nonemployment activities prohibited by…”
Pence v. Illinois Human Rights Comm'n (2020) illappct “” 820 ILCS 40/2 (West 2018). To promote personnel recordkeeping, section 4 provides that “[p]ersonnel record information which was not included in the personnel record but should have been as required by this Act shall not be used by an employer in a judicial or quasi-judicial…”
Harrison v. Deere & Co. (2014) illappct · cites it 7× “¶4 In this, the third case, Harrison claimed violations by Deere of the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act (the Act) (820 ILCS 40/2, 9 (West 2008)) when Deere assembled an investigative record of his associations, communications, and nonemployment activities prohibited by…”
Fraternal Order of Police v. The City of Chicago (2016) illappct “According to plaintiff, section 2 of the Review Act broadly defines personnel files to include documents "which are, have been or are intended to be used in determining that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge or…”
Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7 v. City of Chicago (2016) illappct “According to plaintiff, section 2 of the Review Act broadly defines personnel files to include documents "which are, have been or are intended to be used in determining that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge or…”
Scanlon v. Ignite, Org. (2022) illappct · cites it 2× “” 820 ILCS 40/2 (West 2020). -6- 1-21-1441 Section 3 of the Act provides that, after the review time as provided in section 2, “an employee may obtain a copy of the information or part of the information contained in the employee’s personnel record” and the employer may charge a…”
Taniesheia Harden v. Comcast Corporation (2020) ca7 “Noting that 820 ILCS 40/2 covers only records about a worker’s “qualifications” for “employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge or other disciplinary action,” Comcast filed an affidavit of compliance with the Act.”
Taniesheia Harden v. Comcast Corporation (2020) ca7 “Noting that 820 ILCS 40/2 covers only records about a worker’s “qualifications” for “employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge or other disciplinary action,” Comcast filed an affidavit of compliance with the Act.”
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