On September 9, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul signed S.3460 into law, a statute that gives employees new rights to inspect and challenge the contents of their personnel records. The law takes effect on November 8, 2026, and applies to both public and private sector employees and former employees.
The statute defines a personnel record as records that are used, have been used, or may be used for decisions related to an employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or disciplinary action. A personnel record includes, but is not limited to, job applications, resumes, performance evaluations, written warnings, probationary period records, disciplinary documents, pay information, job descriptions and employment details. The statute’s definition further extends to records maintained by third-party vendors acting on behalf of an employer.
Information of a personal nature that would clearly constitute an “unwarranted invasion” of another person’s privacy is not considered a personnel record under the law. The statute provides limited guidance on how that exclusion should operate in practice when employers are balancing employee access rights against confidentiality concerns.
The law also requires employers to notify employees if any information is placed in their personnel record that could negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment. This broadly applies to information that could result in discipline or could negatively...
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