The Personnel Records Law taking effect November 8, 2026 is a New York State law. It was enacted as L.2026, c. 293, and adds a new Section 210-b to the New York Labor Law N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill (S3460) on September 9, 2026, and it takes effect on November 8, 2026 2026 Labor & Employment Law Developments Tracker, Practical Law Practice Note w-045-4343. Prior to this enactment, New York had no law permitting employees to examine their personnel files Employee Privacy Laws: New York, Practical Law State Q&A w-009-6950. The new law applies to both private and public sector employers statewide and grants employees and former employees the right to access, copy, and dispute their personnel records, while imposing corresponding obligations on employers regarding notification, record production, retention, and anti-retaliation N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney).

Key obligations include: providing current and former employees, at no cost, a copy of their personnel record within five business days of a written request, limited to two requests per calendar year; notifying employees within 10 days when information that has been or may be used to negatively affect employment-related qualifications is placed in the personnel record, with any subsequent request not counting against the annual limit; retaining complete, unaltered personnel records from hire through three years after termination; allowing employees to submit written statements disputing information, which must be added to the record if no agreement to correct or remove is reached; permitting employees to seek expungement of information the employer knew or should have known was false through internal procedures or the courts; and prohibiting retaliation against employees who exercise these rights.

Definitions (Subdivision 1)

The statute establishes three core definitions N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney):

Employee means any person currently or formerly employed by an employer. This broad definition ensures that former employees retain rights under the law even after their employment ends.

Employer is defined expansively to include any individual, corporation, partnership, labor organization, unincorporated association, or any other legal business — including any governmental entity or public employer as defined in the Civil Service Law, and any commercial entity, including agents of such employer. This means the law applies to both private and public sector employers throughout New York State.

Personnel record means a 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. The definition expressly includes records held by third parties under contract with the employer to keep or supply such records. It excludes information of a personal nature about persons other than the employee where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of that other person’s privacy.

The statute provides a non-exhaustive list of documents that must be included in a personnel record: the employee’s name, address, date of birth, job title and description; rate of pay and other compensation; starting date of employment; the job application; resumes or other employment inquiry forms submitted by the employee; all performance evaluations; written warnings of substandard performance; lists of probationary periods; waivers signed by the employee; copies of dated termination notices; and any other documents relating to disciplinary action. Personnel records must be maintained in typewritten or printed form, or handwritten in indelible ink N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney)

Employer Notification and Employee Access Rights (Subdivision 2)

Subdivision 2 establishes the core access and notification framework N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney):

• Notification of negative information: An employer must notify an employee within 10 days of placing in the employee’s personnel record 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 of disciplinary action.
• Right to copy: Upon receiving a written request from an employee, the employer must provide the employee with a free copy of their personnel record within five business days. There is no cost to the employee for this copy.
• Frequency of review: An employer is not required to allow an employee to review their personnel record more than two times per calendar year. However, reviews triggered by the employer’s placement of negative information in the record — and the corresponding notification — do not count toward the two-review annual limit.

Dispute Resolution and Record Correction (Subdivision 3)

If an employee disagrees with any information in their personnel record, the employer and employee may mutually agree to remove or correct the information N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). If no agreement is reached, the employee has the right to submit a written statement explaining their position, which must be included in the personnel record and become a permanent part of it. When the original information is transmitted to a third party, the employee’s written statement must accompany it, as long as the original information is retained in the file.

If an employer places information in a personnel record that the employer knew or should have known to be false, the employee has a remedy through the collective bargaining agreement, other personnel procedures, or judicial process to have such information expunged. The statute also expressly permits the removal of information from a personnel record upon mutual agreement of the employer and employee for any reason N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney).

Record Retention Requirements (Subdivision 4)

An employer must retain the complete personnel record of any employee — without deletions or expungement — from the date of employment through a date three years after the termination of employment N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). This retention obligation applies to the full record as required to be kept under the statute.

Written Personnel Policy (Subdivision 5)

If an employer elects to have a written personnel policy regarding the terms and conditions of employment, that policy must be continuously maintained at the office of the employer where personnel matters are administered N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). The policy must reflect any amendments made from time to time.

Collective Bargaining Agreement Carve-Out (Subdivision 6)

The statute does not supersede the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), provided that the CBA grants employees at least substantially similar access to their personnel records as that provided by the statute N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). Employers covered by a CBA that meets this threshold are not required to separately comply with the statutory access provisions.

Penalties and Enforcement (Subdivision 7)

Any violation of the statute by an employer or any other person is punishable by a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,500 N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). Enforcement authority is vested in the New York State Attorney General N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney).

Anti-Retaliation Protections (Subdivision 8)

No employer or other person may discharge, threaten, penalize, or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against any employee who exercises their rights under the statute N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney). The anti-retaliation provision is notably broad: it expressly includes, as a form of prohibited retaliation, 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 that of the employee’s family or household member — to any federal, state, or local agency N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b (McKinney).

Keven Danow is an attorney representing members of all three tiers of the Beverage Alcohol Industry and member of The Danow Group, 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158.  (212 3703744). Website: thedanowgroup.com; email:kd@thedanowgroup.com