On September 9, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill S3460, which amends the New York Labor Law to provide current and former employees rights to access and dispute their personnel records. The law, which is modeled after Massachusetts' Personnel Record Law, represents a considerable change for all New York employers, which previously had no legislation regulating personnel records or requiring disclosure to employees. The law goes into effect on November 8, 2026.
This Alert outlines the primary requirements of this significant legislation as it stands today. In an Approval Memorandum accompanying her signing this bill into law, the Governor recognized that there remain substantial ambiguities that need to be resolved "to avoid uncertainty for both employers and employees including clarifying that employers are not required to create a personnel file or produce new documents beyond the records they currently maintain, and that personnel files only include records or documents used to determine an employee's qualifications for hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or disciplinary action." The Governor therefore signed the bill into law on the condition that the ambiguities would be addressed in the next legislative session.
We are continuing to monitor and will provide updates on any further amendments or clarifications to the law.
