Personnel files — Missouri

There are no federal or Missouri laws that dictate what personnel documents an employer must generate or how an employer should label or organize its personnel files. However, federal laws do require employers to keep personnel records that it already keeps or generates for a certain period of time (discussed herein). The contents of personnel files are likely to vary widely by industry or business. However, personnel file recordkeeping and rule enforcement should be uniform. For example, if a manager begins documenting a single employee’s tardiness, but ignores other employees’ tardiness, the single employee could claim disparate treatment. Therefore, it is essential that employers ensure uniform and consistent recordkeeping and maintain existing records for the time periods required by law.

Basic information within the personnel file may include:

• employment application (and resume, reference letters and documentation of oral reference checks, if applicable)
• job description
• performance evaluations
• attendance records
• disciplinary records
• benefits election forms
• employee handbook receipts
• necessary tax forms, such as IRS W-4s
• payroll information
• emergency contact information and employee’s current address and telephone numbers
• any complaints made by the employee and the company’s response
...

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