New York Employers Face New Personnel Record Access Obligations

On September 9, 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed S3460, an amendment to the New York Labor Law requiring New York employers to provide current and former employees with access to their personnel records and imposing recordkeeping, notice, and anti-retaliation requirements.

Notably, Governor Hochul signed the bill into law on the condition that the legislature address ambiguities in the law before the 2027 legislative session. Upon signing the bill, the Governor expressed concerns that “ambiguities that needed to be resolved to avoid uncertainty for both employers and employees, including clarifying that employers are not required to create a personnel file or produce new documents beyond the records they currently maintain, and that personnel files only include records or documents used to determine an employee’s qualifications for hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or disciplinary action.” The law will take effect without amendment on November 8, 2026; employers should assess whether policy changes are needed before the law takes effect. 

New York now joins a list of 19 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, California, and Delaware, with statutes granting employees access to personnel records.   

Overview

The new law adds Section 210-b to the New York Labor Law, creating a statutory framework for current and former employees to access their personnel records. The law applies broadly to any “employer,” which is defined to include any individual, corporation, partnership, labor organization, unincorporated association, or any other legal business, including any governmental entity or public employer, and any commercial entity. The law does not state whether it covers out-of-state employees of New York employers; however, the New York Labor Law’s coverage has generally been limited to individuals working in New York.

Section 210-b defines “personnel record” as “a record kept by an employer that identifies an employee, to the extent that the record is used, has been used, or may affect or be used relative to that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or disciplinary action.” The law also applies to records held by third-party vendors who contract with employers to keep or supply personnel records. Importantly, “a personnel record shall not include information of a personal nature about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of such other person’s privacy.”

What the Labor Law Amendment Means for Employers

The amended Labor Law creates additional obligations for employers regarding employees’ personnel records, including the following:

• Negative Information Notice Requirement: Employers must notify an employee within 10 days of placing any information in the employee’s personnel record to the extent that the information is, has been used, or may be used to negatively affect the employee’s “qualification for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or the possibility that the employee will be subject to disciplinary action.” While negative information is not further defined, this arguably includes negative performance reviews, warnings of substandard performance, informal feedback concerning performance deficiencies, and any other documents that may lead to disciplinary action. As a practical matter, employers will now be required to inform employees of negative performance reviews or other negative written feedback soon after it is entered into their personnel file. 
• Employee Access Rights: Upon receiving a written request from an employee, an employer must provide the employee with a copy of the employee’s personnel record at no cost within five business days. However, an employer is not required to allow an employee to review the employee’s personnel record on more than two separate occasions in a calendar year, though a notification and review triggered by the placement of negative information does not count toward this limit.
• Right to Dispute Records: If an employee disagrees with any information in a personnel record, the employer and employee may mutually agree to remove or correct the information. If no agreement is reached, the employee may submit a written statement explaining the employee’s position, which must be included in the personnel record. If the record is ever transmitted to a third party, the employer must also transmit the employee’s written statement. If an employer places information in a personnel record that the employer knew or should have known to be false, the employee may seek expungement through a collective bargaining agreement (if applicable), other employer personnel procedures, or the judicial process. Notably, the law does not provide further clarification regarding the use of the judicial process for the purposes of record expungement. 
• Recordkeeping Requirements: Employers must retain the complete personnel record of any employee, without deletions or expungement, from the date of employment until three years after the termination of employment.
• Written Personnel Policy: If an employer elects to have a written personnel policy regarding the terms and conditions of employment, the policy must be continuously maintained at the office of the employer where personnel matters are administered.
• Anti-Retaliation Protections: The law prohibits employers from discharging, threatening, penalizing, or in any other manner discriminating or retaliating against any employee who exercises their rights under the personnel records access law. Under this provision, “to threaten, penalize, or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee includes, but is not limited to, threatening to contact or contacting the United States immigration authorities or otherwise reporting or threating to report an employee’s suspected citizenship or immigration status.” The statute does not provide an enforcement mechanism specific to this provision. 
• Enforcement: The law will be enforced by the New York Attorney General, who may seek fines ranging from $500 to $2,500 for violations. The statute does not include a private right of action. 

Next Steps for Employers

• Review and update personnel record policies and procedures before November 8, 2026 to ensure compliance with the new access, notice, and recordkeeping requirements. 
• Train human resources personnel and managers on the new requirements and best practices for creating, maintaining, and managing personnel records.
• Implement procedures to notify employees within 10 days when negative information is added to their personnel records.
• Establish a process for responding to employee written requests for personnel records within the five-business-day window required by the law.
• Assess recordkeeping practices to ensure that complete personnel records are retained for three years after termination of employment.
• Monitor legislative developments for potential amendments clarifying the law’s scope and applicability.