Beginning November 8, 2026, New York employers will have new obligations concerning employee personnel records. Senate Bill S3460, which was signed into law on September 9, 2026, adds Section 210-b to the New York Labor Law and gives current and former employees broader rights to access and respond to information maintained in their personnel records.
The law also creates new notice, recordkeeping, and retention requirements. While the law is scheduled to take effect on November 8, the Governor’s approval memorandum identified areas of ambiguity and indicated that additional legislation is expected to address certain provisions. Employers should review their personnel-record practices, prepare for the new requirements, and continue to monitor developments.
What Is a “Personnel Record”?
The new law broadly defines a “personnel record” as a record maintained by an employer that identifies an employee and relates to the employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or disciplinary action.
The definition also includes certain records maintained by a third party under a contractual agreement with the employer.
The law specifically identifies information that must be maintained in a personnel record when prepared by the employer, including:
- The employee’s name, address, date of birth, job title, and job description
- Rate of pay and other compensation
- Starting date of employment
- Job applications, resumes, and employment inquiry forms
- Performance evaluations
- Written warnings concerning substandard performance
- Records of probationary periods
- Waivers signed by the employee
- Dated termination notices
- Other documents relating to disciplinary action
Employers Must Provide Notice About Certain Negative Information
The law creates a new notification requirement when an employer places certain negative information in an employee’s personnel record. An employer must notify the employee within 10 days if the information has been used, or may affect or be used, to negatively affect the employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or the possibility of disciplinary action.
This requirement could create practical challenges because it is not limited to formal disciplinary notices. Written warnings and negative performance evaluations would appear to fall within the requirement, while other forms of internal documentation may require employers to consider whether the information could negatively affect the employee.
Employees Have a Right to Access Their Personnel Records
Beginning November 8, 2026, current and former employees may submit a written request for a copy of their personnel record. Employers must provide the requested record within five business days of receiving the request and may not charge the employee for the copy. An employee may make up to two requests per calendar year.
There is an important exception: a review prompted by an employer’s placement of negative information in the employee’s personnel record does not count toward the employee’s two annual requests.
Employers should establish a process for receiving and fulfilling these requests, including identifying who will locate, review, and provide responsive records within the five-business-day deadline.
Employees Can Respond to or Dispute Information
An employer and employee may mutually agree to remove or correct disputed information. If they cannot reach an agreement, the employee may submit a written statement explaining their position. That statement becomes part of the personnel record and must accompany the disputed information if the information in the record is later transmitted to a third party, for as long as the original information remains in the record.
The law also provides a mechanism for an employee to seek expungement through a collective bargaining agreement, applicable personnel procedures, or judicial process when an employer knew or should have known that information placed in the record was false.
New Record Retention Requirement
Employers must retain an employee’s complete personnel record from the date of employment through three years after termination. The statute requires the record to be retained without deletions or expungement of information. Employers should review their existing retention and document-destruction policies to ensure they comply with these requirements.
Enforcement and Retaliation
The New York Attorney General may bring an enforcement action for violations of the law. Violations may result in fines ranging from $500 to $2,500 per violation.
The law also prohibits employers from discharging, threatening, penalizing, discriminating against, or retaliating against an employee for exercising rights under the statute. The retaliation provision includes specific protections relating to threats to contact, or contacting, immigration authorities regarding an employee’s or certain family or household members’ citizenship or immigration status.
What Employers Should Do Now
Employers should begin preparing for the new requirements before November 8. At a minimum, employers should:
- Audit personnel files. Review what information is maintained, where it is stored, and whether records maintained by third parties may fall within the law’s definition.
- Establish a request-response procedure. Designate who will receive requests, collect responsive records, and provide them within five business days.
- Create a process for negative-information notices. Determine how information subject to the 10-day notification requirement will be identified and document that notice was provided.
- Review documentation and retention practices. Ensure managers and HR personnel understand what information is placed in personnel records, and that records are retained for three years after termination without premature deletion.
New York’s Personnel Records Access Law gives employees greater access to information maintained about them while creating new obligations for employers. Employers should establish clear procedures now to prepare for the law’s November 8th effective date.