New York Enacts Drastic Changes Impacting Employee Personnel Records

Effective November 8, 2026, employers with employees in New York State must revise their policies and practices regarding their employees’ personnel files. NY State Senate Bill 2025-S3460

Newly enacted New York Labor Law Section 210-b adds the following new requirements:

• Employers must provide free copies of employee personnel records within five business days after receiving a written request from the current or former employee; previously there was no obligation to provide access to personnel files.
   
• Employers must permit employees to review their personnel records at least twice annually.
   
• Employers must retain personnel records throughout employment and for three years thereafter.
   
• Perhaps most onerously, employers must notify employees within 10 days of the employer’s placement in the personnel record of any information that has been or may be used to negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or possible disciplinary action.

Employees may dispute information in the personnel record, following which the parties may mutually agree to correct or remove the objectionable content. Absent such agreement, the employee may submit a written statement explaining their position, which must be added to the personnel record.

Under the statute, there are mechanisms to seek expungement of information the employer knew or should have know was false.

The statutory definition of a personnel record is drafted broadly and includes a record in the possession of third parties that have a contractual agreement with the employer to keep or supply a personnel record. It does, however, exclude information of a personal nature about persons other than the employee if disclosure of that information would constitute a clearly unwanted invasion of that person’s privacy.

Employers that adopt personnel policies regarding the terms and conditions of employment must continuously maintain those policies in the office where personnel matters are administered.

Retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under this statute – such as by requesting access or seeking modification of any content - is prohibited.

This law does not supersede the terms of collective bargaining agreements for unionized employees if that agreement provides at least substantially similar access to personnel records.

Labor Law Section 210-b does not give rise to a private right of action. Only the New York State Attorney General is empowered to enforce the statute. The Attorney General can impose fines ranging from $500 to $2,500.

Given that the statute will be effective in less than 60 days from today, employers should immediately begin preparation of new policies and procedures to ensure they are in compliance with this new law, including identifying and tracking any “negative information” that needs to be maintained in the personnel file, providing notice to employees as applicable, and developing procedures to respond to requests to view, modify or expunge information (including coordination with third party vendors, such as PEOs, payroll companies, or HR vendors). Additionally, employers should train managers, supervisors and human resources personnel about compliance and update performance documentation training to incorporate these new requirements and best practices.