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On Sept. 9, 2026, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law S3460, which grants employees the right to access their personnel records and requires employers to notify employees when negative information is placed in their personnel files. Gov. Hochul signed the bill into law notwithstanding her conclusion that “[t]he bill as drafted has ambiguities that needed to be resolved to avoid uncertainty for both employers and employees” and her agreement with the Legislature to address those issues during the 2027 legislative session. The law will go into effect on Nov. 8, 2026, prior to any such amendments, so employers should begin preparing for compliance now.
Key requirements
Key provisions of the new legislation are summarized below. For a more detailed discussion of the new law and its open issues, we refer you to our prior Insight.
Employee access. Employers must provide current and former employees with a copy of their personnel record at no cost within five business days of a written request, limited to two requests per calendar year. “Personnel record” is defined broadly as a record kept by an employer that identifies an employee, to the extent that the record has been or may be used or otherwise affect that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or disciplinary action.
Notice of negative information. Employers must notify employees within 10 days of placing in their personnel record any information that has been used, or may be used, to negatively affect their qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or the possibility of disciplinary action. A personnel record request made following such notice does not count toward the two-request annual limit described above.
Recordkeeping and retention. Employers must retain complete, unaltered personnel records from the date of hire through three years after termination of employment.
Dispute resolution and anti-retaliation. Employees may submit written statements disputing information in their records, which must be made a part of the personnel record if no mutual agreement to correct or remove the disputed portions is reached. Employees may seek expungement of information the employer knew or should have known to be false through personnel procedures or the judicial process. Retaliation against employees exercising their rights under the law is prohibited.
Enforcement and penalties. Violations are punishable by fines of $500 to $2,500, with enforcement authority vested in the New York Attorney General.
Additional, Clarifying Legislation is Expected in 2027
Importantly, Gov. Hochul’s signature of the bill was accompanied by an Approval Memorandum in which she acknowledged that the law, as drafted, contains ambiguities that needed to be resolved. According to the Approval Memorandum, those uncertainties included “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 Memorandum further states that Gov. Hochul signed the bill into law on the basis of an agreement she reached with the Legislature to address these ambiguities in the upcoming legislative session. The upcoming New York legislative session convenes in January 2027.
Action items for employers
The Nov. 8, 2026 effective date affords employers limited time to prepare for the changes introduced by the law. Employers should:
- Update personnel recordkeeping practices to ensure all required documents are captured and retention requirements are satisfied.
- Develop or update procedures for responding to personnel record requests within the five-business-day window.
- Establish a notification protocol for alerting employees within 10 days when negative information is added to their records.
- Watch for an amendment to the statute in 2027 intended to address the ambiguities acknowledged by Gov. Hochul in her Approval Memorandum.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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