Review and Copy Employee's Personnel File - 26 M R S a 631

26 M.R.S.A 631 provides: The employer shall, upon written request from an employee or former employee, provide the employee, former employee or duly authorized representative with an opportunity to review and copy the employee's personnel file if the employer has a personnel file for that employee. The reviews and copying must take place at the location where the personnel files are maintained and during normal office hours. . . .For purposes of this section, a personnel file includes, but is not limited to, any formal or informal employee evaluations and reports relating to the employee's character, credit, work habits, compensation and benefits and nonprivileged medical records or nurses' station notes relating to the employee that the employer has in the employer's possession. . . .Any employer who, following a request pursuant to this section, without good cause fails to provide an opportunity for review and copying of a personnel file, within 10 days of receipt of that request, is subject to a civil forfeiture of $ 25 for each day that a failure continues. The total forfeiture may not exceed $ 500. An employee, former employee or the Department of Labor may bring an action in the District Court of the Superior Court for such equitable relief, including an injunction, as the court may consider to be necessary and proper. The employer may also be required to reimburse the employee, former employee or the Department of Labor for costs of suit including a reasonable attorney's fee if the employee, former employee or the department receives a judgment in the employee's or department's favor, respectively. By the plain language of this statute, an employer's obligation to disclose is broad and comprehensive. the statute identifies specific types of documents that an employee is entitled to review and copy upon written request. This material ranges from financial issues to characterological issues to medical issues. Further, the plain language of the statute makes clear that these specific categories of material are not exclusive. Rather, the statutory conception of a "personnel file" is not limited in that way. Such files include but are "not limited to" those types of documents.