title: How can I reference a custom class in an MVC Layout or ViewStart page?
body: <p>I'm working on an MVC application that will be used by some internal (that is, Windows authenticated) employees. Unfortunately for me, our Active Directory accounts aren't aware of each employee's ID -- our employee database doesn't talk to AD at all (cringe-inducing, I know).</p>
  
  <p>Anyway, the website must record the each employee's ID as he or she makes changes to various records. In the past (in ASP.NET WebForms), I would've added a reference to a custom class in the Session and just used that to check for access, grab the employee's ID, and display the employee's full name at the top of the application.</p>
  
  <p>How would I do this in MVC? I know that I can add data to the Session, but I can't find any way to cleanly reference Session data in the _Layout.cshtml file, and I would honestly prefer to store this data in a class that I can get Intellisense with, rather than using an array indexer. Am I being too picky?</p>
  
  <p><strong>To be clear:</strong> I'm trying to figure out how to reference information stored in a custom class in a <strong>layout or master page</strong>, or if that's just a completely stupid idea.</p>