New York’s New Personnel Records Law: What Employers Need to Know

Legal Alert

October 20, 2026

Starting November 8, 2026, New York will require employers to maintain and provide both current and former employees with access to their personnel records. The law applies to both private and public employers, and includes any individual, corporation, partnership, labor organization, unincorporated association, any other legal business, and any commercial entity, including agents of the employer.

Under Section 210-b of the New York Labor Law, personnel records are defined as “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.” This includes records kept by third-party human resources platforms and vendors on behalf of the employer.

The records can be in printed or typewritten form. The personnel record for each employee must contain the following written information: (1) name; (2) address; (3) date of birth; (4) first day of employment; (5) job title and description; and (6) rate of pay and any additional compensation paid to the employee.

Personnel records also should contain the following documents, if they exist: (1) the employee’s job application, resumes, or other forms of employment inquiry; (2) performance evaluations; (3) written warnings for performance issues; (4) lists of probationary periods; (5) signed waivers; (6) dated termination notices; and (7) any other documents relating to disciplinary action. Employers must update employee records on a continuous basis.

The statute does provide that information of a personal nature regarding an individual other than the employee should be excluded from a personnel record if the disclosure of the information would constitute an invasion of privacy.

NEGATIVE INFORMATION AND CONTESTING THE RECORD

Employers are also required to notify an employee within ten days of an employer adding any “negative information” to an employee’s personnel record. Negative information includes information that has been used or might be used to negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment, transfer, promotion, compensation, or the possibility that the employee will be subject to disciplinary action.

Under the law, employees have the right to dispute information they disagree with in their personnel file. The employer and employee can mutually agree to remove or correct the disputed information. However, if the employer disagrees with the employee’s request, the employee can submit a written statement explaining the dispute which will then become a permanent part of the employee’s personnel record. Any explanatory statement must be transmitted with the record when sent to a third party.

REQUEST PROCEDURE AND REVIEWS

Employees are required to submit requests to access their personnel records in writing.

Upon request, employers must provide an employee with a copy of their personnel record within five business days, at no cost to the employee. This includes providing information that is in the possession of third-party human resources vendors.

Employers are generally only required to allow an employee to review their record twice in a calendar year. However, if an employer provides a mandatory negative information notice, any resulting request and review of the personnel record will not count toward the two-request limit.

RETENTION

Employers must keep each employee’s complete personnel file from the employee’s first day of employment through three years after termination. Except in the limited circumstance where an employee and employer agree to change or remove disputed information, employers may not delete or expunge parts of the employee’s record.

RETALIATION AND VIOLATIONS

If an employer adds information to a personnel file that it knew, or reasonably should have known, was false, employees may use remedies available to them under a collective bargaining agreement, the judicial process, or any identified company-specific procedures to have the false information expunged.

Any attempt to retaliate against an employee for exercising their rights under this statute is prohibited. This includes an express prohibition against threatening to contact or contacting local, state, or federal agencies, including U.S. immigration authorities, regarding an employee or their family’s immigration or citizenship status.

Failure to abide by the new law will result in fines to the employer of no less than $500 and up to $2,500. The law will be enforced by the Attorney General.

NEXT STEPS FOR EMPLOYERS

The most urgent focus for employers should be creating a comprehensive procedure to respond to an employee’s request within the limited five-day window. Employers should evaluate what information and documents are already in their possession that qualify as personnel records, and should begin to compile them in a centralized format. This includes determining if third-party human resources vendors are in possession of the required information or documents and ensuring the necessary information can be produced within the five-day timeline upon request.

Employers should review any existing company-specific personnel record policies to ensure compliance with the new law and update employees’ personnel records accordingly.

All employers should also develop a written policy that addresses the mandatory ten-day negative information notice requirement. The policy should identify the procedure for how negative information is flagged before being added to a personnel record, the personnel responsible for handling negative information notices, and how an employee will be informed.

While Governor Hochul has indicated that additional changes to clarify ambiguities in the law are likely forthcoming, employers should begin making these changes now to be in compliance with the version of the law going into effect on November 8th.

If you have any questions about any of the issues discussed in this alert or need assistance with reviewing or drafting new policies to comply with the new law, please contact your Labor and Employment counsel at Smith Gambrell & Russell, LLP.