New York Mandates Employee Access to Their Personnel Records
Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed S3460 into law, adding Section 201-b to the New York Labor Law, to govern employee access to personnel records. Effective November 8, 2026, this new law grants current and former employees the right to review and dispute their personnel records. Employers should prepare now to ensure compliance and avoid penalties.
What is a Personnel Record?
S3460 defines a “personnel record” as any employer-kept record that identifies and employee and may impact employment decisions such as hiring, promotion, transfer, compensation, or discipline. This includes:
- Employee’s name, address, date of birth, job title, and job description;
- Job application and resumes submitted in response to job postings;
- Performance evaluation and related documents;
- Written warnings of substandard performance;
- Probationary period lists;
- Waivers signed by the employee;
- Dated termination notices; and/or
- Any documents relating to disciplinary action.
The personnel record does not include information about a person other than the employee, if disclosure of that information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the other person’s privacy.
What are the Key Employer Obligations Under S3460?
Employers are now required to:
- Notify employees within ten days of placing any information in their personnel record that could negatively affect employment decisions.
- Provide a free copy of the personnel record within five business days of a written request by the employee.
- Allow at least two reviews of personnel records per calendar year. Reviews triggered by negative information do not count toward this limit.
- Retain personnel records for the duration of employment and for at least three years after termination.
What are the Retaliation Protections?
Employers are prohibited from discharging, threatening, penalizing, or in any other manner discriminating or retaliating against an employee who exercises their rights under this new law. This expressly includes threatening to contact or contacting United States immigration authorities or otherwise reporting or threatening to report an employee's suspected citizenship or immigration status or the suspected citizenship or immigration status of an employee's family or household member.
What are the Dispute and Enforcement Mechanisms?
If an employee disagrees with information in their personnel record, the employer and employee may agree to remove or correct it. If the employee and employer are unable to reach an agreement, the employee can submit a written statement that must be included in the personnel record. If the employer places information that the employer knew or should have known was false in a record, employees may seek remedies through collective bargaining (if applicable), personnel procedures, or judicial process to have that information expunged.
The new law does not supersede the terms of a collective bargaining agreement so long as the agreement provides at least substantially similar access by an employee to their personnel records.
Violations are enforced by the Attorney General and may result in fines ranging from $500 to $2,500.
What are the Next Steps for Employers?
Employers should review current recordkeeping practices and update their policies to comply with the law’s requirements before November 8, 2026. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your lawyer.
