Name that Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

1. I NSPECTION

a. What May Be Inspected Although employees have the right to inspect their personnel files, the Education Code restricts access to some of the information. An employee is not entitled to records relating to the investigation of a possible criminal offense or letters of reference. 254 In addition, an employee is not entitled to ratings, reports or records that were:

 Obtained before the employees employment,

 Prepared by identifiable examination committee members, or

 Obtained in connection with a promotional examination.

An employee’s right of access to private information concerning promotional decisions, salary reviews, and other information affecting employment status must be balanced against an employer’s right to solicit and keep confidential candid and uninhibited assessments/appraisals of employees to be able to make intelligent staffing and advancement decisions. The privacy rights of those whose confidential communications are in the employee’s personnel or promotional files must also be protected. It is an employer’s duty and responsibility to protect and assert third party rights to confidentiality. For example, in Brutsch v. City of Los Angeles, 255 the Court of Appeal refused to permit police officers access to interviewers’ rating sheets which contained the interviewers’ comments recorded during the oral interview portion of a promotional examination. The Court recognized the City’s legitimate interest in protecting the privacy of the interviewers whom had been assured that their comments would be confidential and rejected plaintiff’s suggestion that the City redact the names of the interviewers from the rating sheets to allow disclosure. The Court held that the plaintiff’s proposed solution was inadequate for three reasons: (1) since the comments are in the interviewers’ own handwriting, plaintiffs may recognize their writing; (2) the possibility that the wording of some of the comments would in and of itself provide a clue to the drafter’s identity; and lastly, (3) some interviewers made their comments on the examination forms themselves presumably in reliance on the promised confidentiality. 256 In Board of Trustees, etc. v. Superior Court, 257 an employee sought discovery of the entire contents of his own personnel file. The University refused to produce written references and statements made by third parties under a guarantee of confidentiality. The Court of Appeal held that the University should make appropriate deletions and produce all such documents which could be so produced without divulging the identity of the third parties who had been guaranteed confidentiality. The Court reached this result by balancing the employee’s right of access under Labor Code section 1198.5 against the interest in maintaining the confidentiality of such statements.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2018 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 86