All other information contained in a personnel file isconfidential and shall not be open for inspection and examinationexcept to the following persons:

 

1. The employee, applicant for employment, former employee,or his properly authorized agent, who may examine his ownpersonnel file in its entirety except for (i) letters ofreference solicited prior to employment, or (ii) informationconcerning a medical disability, mental or physical, that aprudent physician would not divulge to a patient. An employee'smedical record may be disclosed to a licensed physiciandesignated in writing by the employee;

2.       The supervisor of the employee;

3. Members of the General Assembly who may inspect andexamine personnel records under the authority of G.S. 120-19;

      

4. A party by authority of a proper court order may inspectand  examine a particular confidential portion of a Stateemployee's personnel file; and

5. An official of an agency of the federal government,State government or any political subdivision thereof. Such anofficial may inspect any personnel records when such inspectionis deemed by the department head of the employee whose record isto be inspected or, in the case of an applicant for employment ora former employee, by the department head of the agency in whichthe record is maintained as necessary and essential to thepursuance of a proper function of said agency; provided, however,that such information shall not be divulged for purposes ofassisting in a criminal prosecution, nor for purposes ofassisting in a tax investigation.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, anydepartment head may, in his discretion, inform any person orcorporation of any promotion, demotion, suspension,reinstatement, transfer, separation, dismissal, employment ornonemployment of any applicant, employee or former employeeemployed by or assigned to his department or whose personnel fileis maintained in his department and the reasons therefor and mayallow the personnel file of such person or any portion thereof tobe inspected and examined by any person or corporation when suchdepartment head shall determine that the release of suchinformation or the inspection and examination of such file orportion thereof is essential to maintaining the integrity of suchdepartment or to maintaining the level or quality of servicesprovided by such department; provided that prior to releasingsuch information or making such file or portion thereof availableas provided herein, such department head shall prepare amemorandum setting forth the circumstances which the departmenthead deems to require such disclosure and the information to bedisclosed. The memorandum shall be retained in the files of saiddepartment head and shall be a public record.

(1975, c. 257, s.1; 1977, c. 866, s. 10; 1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1207.)