How to Fill Out and File a New Hire Evaluation Form: Rules and Retention

A new hire evaluation form is a structured document a supervisor completes during an employee’s first 30, 60, or 90 days to record how well that person is adapting to the role, and it becomes a permanent part of the personnel file. To fill it out properly, you capture identifying details at the top, rate job-specific competencies with dated examples in the body, review the document with the employee, obtain a signature acknowledging receipt, and store the signed form in the personnel file for at least one year under federal recordkeeping rules.¹

What Belongs on the Form

Start with identification: the employee’s full legal name, job title, department, supervisor name, hire date, and the specific review period (for example, “30-day review: March 1 – March 31”). The Department of Labor requires employers to keep each employee’s full name and Social Security number on file, so the evaluation form should tie back to that record rather than relying on an internal ID alone.²

Below the header, break the form into competency areas pulled directly from the job description. Common categories for new hires include:

Work skills: prioritizing assignments, time management, initiative, and adaptability to new tasks.
Communication: responsiveness to coworkers and customers, clarity in written and verbal exchanges, and willingness to ask questions.
Technical proficiency: competence with required software, tools, or equipment specific to the role.
Work ethic and attendance: punctuality, reliability, frequency of unscheduled absences, and adherence to scheduling expectations.
Policy compliance: following safety protocols, data security procedures, dress codes, and other workplace rules.

Each competency needs a numeric rating and room for written comments. The most common format is a 1-to-5 scale: 1 – Unsatisfactory, 2 – Needs Improvement, 3 – Meets Expectations, 4 – Exceeds Expectations, 5 – Outstanding. Any rating above or below “Meets Expectations” should carry a written explanation so the employee can see exactly what earned that score.

Close the form with a space for overall supervisor comments, a space for the employee’s own response, and signature lines with dates for both parties. Add a line for the next-level supervisor’s signature. That second review helps catch bias before it reaches the file.

Writing Comments That Hold Up

What separates a useful evaluation from a legally risky one is how the comments are written. Vague entries like “doing pretty good” or “needs to work on things” give the employee nothing to act on and give the organization nothing to defend later. Every comment should describe a specific, observable behavior tied to a job requirement.

Compare these two versions of the same note:

Weak: “Has an attitude problem with the team.”
Strong: “On March 12 and March 19, responded to a coworker’s process question by saying ‘figure it out yourself,’ which conflicts with the team collaboration expectations in the onboarding handbook.”

The strong version names dates, describes the behavior, and connects it to a documented standard. That specificity matters because the EEOC advises employers to base appraisals on actual job performance and to make sure comparable performances receive comparable ratings regardless of who conducts the evaluation.³ Subjective, unsupported opinions are the entries that get scrutinized in discrimination claims.

The same rule applies to praise. Instead of “great job this month,” write: “Completed all assigned onboarding modules two days ahead of schedule and processed 47 customer orders during the first 30 days with zero errors flagged by quality review.” Numbers and timelines make the record useful.

Legal Rules That Shape the Form

Three federal laws govern what can appear on an evaluation. None forbids performance reviews. All require that your criteria and ratings apply consistently to every employee in the same job.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.⁴ For evaluations, every performance criterion must be job-related, and you must apply those criteria the same way to every employee in the same role. Subjective practices that produce statistically lopsided results across protected groups can trigger disparate impact liability even without discriminatory intent. Build the form around objective, job-related standards and apply them uniformly.³

The Americans With Disabilities Act

The ADA does not require you to lower production standards for an employee with a disability. The employee must meet the same quantitative and qualitative standards as anyone else in the role. What the ADA does require is reasonable accommodation so the employee can meet those standards, and that includes the review process itself. For an employee with a visual impairment, that may mean providing the evaluation in Braille or an accessible electronic format so they can read and respond independently.⁵

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

The ADEA protects workers 40 and older from employment discrimination, including biased performance assessments.⁶ A comment like “seems slow to learn new technology,” unsupported by actual performance data, can read as age-based stereotyping. Stick to documented, measurable observations.

Running the Review Meeting

Schedule the meeting during regular work hours. Time spent in a mandatory, job-related meeting is compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and holding the meeting off the clock creates a wage and hour liability, especially for non-exempt employees.⁷

Walk through each competency rating and summarize the written comments. The employee needs to understand exactly what was observed and why each score was assigned. Give them room to ask questions. Ask how the onboarding has gone from their side; a gap that looks like a performance issue is sometimes a training failure or a missing resource the supervisor didn’t know about.

Don’t save bad news for the formal review. If the 90-day meeting is the first time an employee hears they are falling short, the process has already failed. A 30-day check-in should catch issues early, a 60-day check-in should track improvement, and the 90-day review should summarize where things stand without surprises.

Getting the Signature

Once you have reviewed the form together, ask the employee to sign. The signature confirms the employee received and reviewed the evaluation. It does not mean they agree with every word. Say that out loud at the time of signing, because the confusion between “I saw it” and “I endorse it” is the biggest source of friction in this step.

If the employee hesitates or refuses, work through these steps:

Clarify the purpose. Explain that signing acknowledges receipt, not agreement, and that the employee can add written comments to the form.
Offer a cooling-off period. Give the employee a day or two to review the document privately. Pressure rarely produces cooperation.
Bring a witness. If the employee still refuses, ask another manager to step in and witness the refusal.
Document the refusal. Note on the form that the employee was presented with the evaluation on a specific date, was given the opportunity to review and respond, and declined to sign. Sign and date that note yourself and have the witness do the same.

A refusal to sign does not invalidate the evaluation. The documented, witnessed refusal serves the same evidentiary purpose in the file.

Rebuttals and Employee File Access

Employees who disagree with their evaluation should be invited to submit a written rebuttal. No federal law requires employers to accept rebuttals, but allowing them strengthens the integrity of the file. If the employee writes one, accept it and attach it to the evaluation. A follow-up meeting is a good idea, and if the rebuttal raises anything that looks like a potential legal issue, investigate rather than ignore it.

About half of U.S. states have statutes giving employees the right to inspect their own personnel files and, in many cases, to add written responses to documents they disagree with. Access rules vary by state, so confirm what your employees are entitled to see and respond to under your state law before you finalize your rebuttal process.

What the Outcome Triggers

A new hire evaluation generally leads to one of three outcomes.

Confirmation

If the employee meets or exceeds expectations, note that on the form and confirm continuation of employment. Set goals for the next review cycle, and tie at least one to a specific, measurable outcome rather than a general aspiration like “continue to improve.”

Performance Improvement Plan

When the evaluation reveals meaningful gaps, a performance improvement plan gives the employee a structured path to close them. An effective PIP identifies specific shortfalls with factual examples, defines measurable goals, and sets a deadline, typically another 30, 60, or 90 days. Both the manager and the employee sign the PIP, and HR gets a copy. The plan gives the employee a real chance to succeed and creates a record that the organization took reasonable corrective steps before any further personnel action.

Separation

If the deficiencies are severe, or the employee has already received documented feedback without improvement, separation during the introductory period may be appropriate. A completed evaluation showing specific, job-related shortfalls, especially one the employee signed or was documented as receiving, provides evidence that the termination was based on performance rather than a protected characteristic. In at-will states, employers have broad latitude to end the relationship, but the documented performance record still matters because it defends against claims of discriminatory or retaliatory termination.

Filing and Retention

After the meeting, submit the signed evaluation through your organization’s established channel, usually an upload to a secure HR information system or physical delivery to the personnel department. The document belongs in the official personnel file, not in a manager’s desk drawer or a shared office folder. Access should be limited to authorized HR staff and direct supervisors.

Under 29 CFR 1602.14, employers must preserve personnel records for one year from the date the record was made or the personnel action involved, whichever is later.¹ If the employee is involuntarily terminated, the clock resets: all personnel records for that individual must be kept for one year from the date of termination.⁸ If a discrimination charge is filed, every record relevant to that charge must be preserved until the matter is fully resolved. State retention requirements sometimes exceed the federal floor, so check your state’s rules before setting a destruction schedule.

1
eCFR. 29 CFR 1602.14 – Preservation of Records Made or Kept
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 21 – Recordkeeping Requirements Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Best Practices for Employers and Human Resources/EEO Professionals
4
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
5
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Applying Performance and Conduct Standards to Employees with Disabilities
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 22 – Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
8
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Recordkeeping Requirements