For many employers, personnel file access laws are familiar territory. Although the requirements vary by state, these laws generally grant private sector employees (and sometimes former employees) a statutory right to review and obtain copies of certain records contained in the personnel file maintained for them by their employer.

Nineteen states[i] currently have some form of personnel file access law applicable to private sector employers. Until recently, New York was not one of these states. Although employees in New York could have access to their personnel file if granted through a collective bargaining agreement, there was no personnel records access requirement generally applicable to private sector New York employers.[ii]

That’s all set to change on November 8, 2026, when New York’s new personnel records access law takes effect.[iii] Under the law, New York employers must provide employees with a copy of their personnel record within five (5) business days after submission of a written request and at no cost to the employee. The law applies to former employees as well, although employers need only maintain a complete personnel record from the date of hire through three (3) years after separation of employment.

Definition of Personnel Record

  • The law defines “personnel record” broadly to include any “record kept by an employer that identifies an employee, to the extent that the record is used or has been used, or may affect or be used relative to that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or disciplinary action.”
  • Such records must be maintained “in typewritten or printed form” or “handwritten in indelible ink.”
  • The law identifies specific categories for inclusion, including the employee’s: (a) name, address, date of birth, job title, and job description; (b) rate of pay and other compensation paid; (c) employment start date, job application, resumes, and/or other forms of employment inquiry; (d) performance evaluations; (e) written warnings; (f) lists of probationary periods; (g) signed waivers; (h) termination notices; and (i) “any other documents relating to disciplinary action regarding the employee.”
  • The law specifically excludes “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” from the definition of a personnel record.
  • Notably, the law also extends to records in the possession of an “association that has a contractual agreement with the employer to keep or supply a personnel record.” In other words, records placed with a vendor or other outside HRIS platform or personnel provider (such as a PEO) are also covered by the law.

Notice Obligations and Negative Information

  • Employers must affirmatively notify employees within ten (10) days after placing any negative information in the employee’s personnel record – i.e., any information that “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.” That means that if, for example, the employer issues corrective action or a negative performance appraisal and intends to place that document in the employee’s personnel record, advance notice must be provided. (As a practical matter, most employers should consider adding a statement to any forms used for such purposes that the record will be added to the employee’s file, thereby providing the required notice at the time of issuance.)
  • Although employees are generally limited to two (2) reviews per calendar year, a review prompted by the addition of negative information does not count toward that limit.
  • If an employee disagrees with any negative information placed in their file, they may ask the employer to correct or remove it, and if the employer refuses, the employee may submit a written statement explaining their disagreement, and that statement must be added to the employee’s personnel record.
  • Employees may also seek recourse through the “judicial process” to expunge information in an employee’s personnel file that the “employer knew or should have known to be false.”

Anti-Retaliation and Enforcement

  • The law includes a broad anti-retaliation provision, providing that “[n]o employer or any other person shall discharge, threaten, penalize, or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against any employee who exercises such employee’s rights under this section.”
  • Violations carry a fine of $500 to $2,500, enforced by the New York Attorney General’s office.
  • Although the law does not create an express private right of action, employers should keep in mind that the law provides for judicial expungement for knowingly maintaining false information in an employee’s file.

Next Steps

In her approval memorandum, Governor Hochul identified certain ambiguities in the law that will be addressed in the 2027 legislative session, including a more precise definition of the records covered by the law and a clarification that employers need not create a personnel file or produce new documents beyond the records they currently maintain.

Nevertheless, employers need to prepare for compliance with the law as written, as these anticipated changes do not alter the law’s current effective date, and November 8 is right around the corner. Employers should identify their employment records and storage practices, develop a clear intake process for written requests, and create procedures for identifying when negative information is added to a file and who will be responsible for notifying the employee.

Five business days can pass quickly, particularly for employers with records scattered across HR systems, managers’ files, and/or outside vendors, so active preparation and planning is crucial. As always, we will monitor and provide updates as developments unfold.

[i] States with personnel file access laws include Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

[ii] See NY Attorney General: Workers’ Rights FAQ (“There is no law in New York that permits an employee to examine their personnel file.”). New York employers did however still have other obligations concerning employment records, including wage notices, wage statements, and retention of certain payroll records for at least six years.

[iii] See N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b.