NC H837

Requires state agencies, local school boards, community colleges, county mental health authorities, counties, cities, and public authorities to maintain and disclose employee personnel records including name, age, employment date, salary, contract terms, position changes, and performance records.

Mandates disclosure of written notice of final dismissal decisions that specify the acts or omissions constituting the basis for termination, and consolidates separate categories for promotion reasons and disciplinary actions into a single category describing reasons for all position classification changes.

Adds employee performance records to the list of public information that must be disclosed by all public employers, to the extent such records exist.

Establishes that prevailing parties in court actions successfully enforcing public records compliance may recover reasonable attorneys' fees, except where the public body acted in reasonable reliance on court judgments, appellate opinions, or written opinions from the Attorney General.

Exempts public hospitals from attorneys' fees liability if the action was brought by a competing health care provider seeking competitive advantage.