Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

Privacy Act 1974

I am a displaced government worker (Reduction In Force-2006) and was turned down for a position within the same agency (TSA) but in another part of the country, because of information of a petty and personal nature contained in my personal file held at the agency I worked at. My question: Are those personal files allowed to be shared with other offices without my consent? I have never received a less than favorable performance review and as I stated, the record contains nothing regarding an illegality, simply inter-office complaints.


Asked on 12/15/07, 2:20 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert L. Bennett Law offices of Robert L. Bennett

Re: Privacy Act 1974

There is almost certainly nothing you can do.

While the Constitution guarantees a right of privacy, it does not cover this.

Your personnel file, unfortunately, may contain negative information that is not accurate, but you can do very little about it.

When you started at your position, you almost certainly signed a number of papers, and were given lots of "paperwork" containing rules and regulations.

Most of us just sign when we are told to sign here (including lawyers), and we waive lots of rights. On the other hand, if you do not sign, you won't get the job.

Some places give you the right to review your file, and, if you are in a union, ask your union rep. for help. If not in a union, ask the appropriate person in the personnel office what you need to do to review your file.

But the direct answer to your question is that they can share your records with other offices.

Good luck!

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Answered on 12/15/07, 3:06 pm


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