A Checklist of issues for employers to consider when creating and maintaining employee personnel files. This Checklist covers federal legal requirements and best practices for private employers, including personnel file contents, employee access to personnel files, protecting confidential personnel information, the electronic storage of personnel records, and other general protocols. This Checklist addresses federal law. State or local requirements may impose additional or different requirements, but this Checklist will be useful to employers in all jurisdictions. For information about state laws, see Employee Access to Personnel Files State Laws Chart: Overview.