FOIA Advisor

Q&A: personnel records from private employer

Q&A (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

Q.  Does a FOI request only pertain to federal and government organizations? Would it pertain to private companies and employees seeking their personal records?  I am looking to retrieve my records from an Illinois employer that is headquartered in Oklahoma.

A.   Neither the Oklahoma Public Records Act nor the Illinois Freedom of Information Act apply to private sector employers.  Oklahoma does not have a law that provides access to personnel files of private sector employers.   In Illinois, the Personnel Record Review Act provides access to certain records in the personnel file of a private sector employee (or former employee).