Dear Bureaupat,
How do I find out what my federal personnel records say, and
can I find out if my supervisor wrote unflattering comments about me in my
file?
Dear Concerned,
There are two sets of records that you should be
concerned with: your Official Personnel Folder (OPF) and your Employee Work
Folder.
The Official Personnel Folder, or
OPF, is the official repository of personnel actions taken during your Federal
service together with all required supporting documentation. The folder, to which you have access or
can designate access, contains long-term records concerning your employment status
and service. This is required by the Office of Personnel Management.
The documents in your OPF do the following:
- Show
your Federal appointment was valid, via an Appointment Affidavit or
Declaration for Federal Employment
- Verify
your military service credit for leave, reduction-in-force, or retirement, via
the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active
Duty, the Military Service Deposit Election, or other forms
- Establish
your employment history, including your grade, occupation and pay, via forms like the
Standard Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action
- Record
your choices under Federal benefits programs, such as the Health
Benefits Registration Form or the Designation of Beneficiary under the
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program.
Take note that
there's only one OPF maintained for each employee, regardless of his or her service in
various agencies. The OPF of each
employee is under the jurisdiction and control of the Office of Personnel
Management.
When
you transfer from one agency to another, the last employing agency
shall, on request, transfer the OPF to the new employing agency. Before transferring the OPF, the losing agency shall:
- Remove those records of a temporary nature filed on the left side of the
folder
- Transfer performance ratings of record and the performance plan on which
the most recent rating was based from the Employee Performance File to the OPF,
if the ratings and plans are not already maintained in the OPF
- Ensure that all permanent documents of the folder are complete, correct
and present in the folder
The
other record you have access to is commonly referred to as the Employee Work
Folder. This work folder is maintained by your supervisor and is independent of
any files maintained by the your agency personnel office.
If
properly maintained, these files can be a valuable management tool. And yes, your supervisor has full
discretion on it contents, which can include "unflattering comments" about you.
However,
to be effective, the Employee Work Folder should accurately and non-discriminatorily
document significant events and discussions supervisors have with their
employees concerning performance, recognition, training and conduct.
To
ensure discretion, documentation is a supervisor's responsibility and should not
be assigned to clerical personnel.
Employees have the right to see and initial notes concerning performance
or conduct, and may review the contents of their work folder upon request. When
an employee separates or transfers to another activity or agency, the Work
Folder should be destroyed after 60 days.
The
following is a list of records which can be maintained by the supervisor in
this folder:
- The most current automated Employee Record Brief
-
Training records - including any formal training plans
-
Leave schedules
-
Position descriptions
-
Performance plans
-
Performance ratings
-
Pending personnel actions
-
Award recommendations
-
Disciplinary/adverse action backup materials
-
Counseling records
For more detailed information on what goes into the Official
Personnel Folder, check our OPM's Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping.
Yours in Gov,
Bureaupat