NY Personnel File Access: Nov 8 Deadline

What employers should know about key developments this week:

New Employee Access Right: Starting November 8, 2026, New York employers must allow current and former employees to access their personnel files up to two times per calendar year, and employers must produce the files within five business days.

Notification and Response Rights: An employer must notify an employee within 10 days of placing any negative information in the employee’s personnel file. The employee has the right to respond, and that response will be included in the personnel file unless the employer and employee agree otherwise.
Collective Bargaining Agreements and Compliance: The new law does not change existing collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) if they already provide employees the same level of access to personnel records as the statute requires. Employers with unionized workforces should review their CBAs against the new statutory floor.

In this episode of Employment Law This Week®, Epstein Becker Green attorney Adam M. Tomiak discusses what the New York personnel file access law means for employers.

NY Personnel File Access Law: What You Must Do by November 8
Play
September 30, 2026

Transcript

[00:00:03] George Whipple: Welcome to Employment Law This Week. I’m George Whipple. New York gets personal with personnel files – Starting November 8, New York employers will be required to offer employees access to their personnel files upon request. Epstein Becker Green’s Adam Tomiak has more about the new law.

[00:00:27] Adam Tomiak: New York's law allows employees and former employees the right to access their personnel file up to two times per calendar year, and employers must respond in five days. In addition, the law imposes an entirely new obligation to provide employees notice whenever negative information enters their personnel file. More specifically, employers must notify employees within ten days of placing any information in the personnel file that is, has been, or may be used to negatively affect the employee's job standing. The employee also has the right to respond to that negative information, which response will then be housed in the personnel file unless the employer and employee agree to remove or adjust it.

[00:01:08] George Whipple: What about employers with unionized workforces? Does this change anything for them?

[00:01:13] Adam Tomiak: The new law does not change the terms of any existing collective bargaining agreements, as long as that CBA provides employees at least the same level of access to their personnel records as the statute itself. Employers with unionized workforces should compare existing CBA access provisions against the statutory floor to confirm compliance.

[00:01:34] George Whipple: The new law focuses on an employee’s personnel record, which may mean different things for different employers. Adam, how exactly does the statute define the term?

[00:01:46] Adam Tomiak: “Personnel record” is defined broadly under the law as a record about an employee that is used, has been used, or may be used to consider that employee's qualifications and any potential employment action for the employee. When approving the bill, Governor Hochul specifically acknowledged ambiguities in its scope and what would be considered a personnel record and agreed with the legislature that additional clarity would be provided in the next legislative session.

[00:02:11] George Whipple: So what can employers do to prepare for these new requirements?

[00:02:15] Adam Tomiak: Employers should review their existing practices for maintaining employee files and prepare to respond to increased requests for personnel files, leveraging existing processes from other states wherever possible. In addition, employers should prepare to comply with the new notice requirements relating to negative information, including by reviewing their disciplinary and performance management processes to consider when negative information flows into the personnel file. Finally, employers should stay tuned for additional developments in response to the governor's comments that will hopefully provide additional clarity soon.

[00:02:49] George Whipple: Thanks, Adam. We’ll keep an eye out for that. And thank you for watching. We’ll see you next time.

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