By Ashley Holsey, SPHR, PHR
Think your training records are just training records? California law now says they may also be personnel records.
Effective January 1, 2026, SB 513 expanded California’s personnel-record requirements to include employee education and training records that an employer maintains.
Here’s the good news: SB 513 does not require employers to create or retain training records they didn’t previously maintain. However, if you do maintain training records, they must now be maintained in a prescribed manner and made available to any current or former employee who requests to inspect or copy their personnel records.
What should training records include?
When maintained by the employer, training records should include:
- Employee name
- Training provider
- Date and duration of training
- Competencies covered, including equipment or software skills
- Resulting certification or qualification, if applicable
What does this mean for employers?
Now is a good time for a quick training-record checkup:
- Know what you have. Training records may be stored in HR files, an HRIS, learning-management systems, or elsewhere in the organization.
- Check for completeness. Make sure your existing records contain the required information.
- Know where to find them. If an employee requests their personnel records, HR should be able to identify and gather applicable training records.
- Don’t forget existing requirements. Certain California laws already require employers to maintain specific training records, including records related to harassment prevention and workplace safety. SB 513 does not replace those obligations or requirements.
- Be ready for access requests. If a current or former employee requests access to their personnel file, employers must provide access within 30 days.
The Bottom Line
SB 513 isn’t creating a new requirement to document every training course, but it does change the way existing training records are treated.
If you maintain employee training or education records, make sure they’re complete, organized, and accessible.
A little recordkeeping housekeeping now can save a lot of scrambling later! Contact your Silver’s HR Consultant with any questions that you have.