New York personnel file law: how to get a copy of your file

Until now, most private-sector employees in New York had no general legal right to see their own personnel file. Senate Bill S3460, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on September 9, 2026, adds Section 210-b to the New York Labor Law and takes effect 60 days later, on November 8, 2026. Its sponsor modeled it on the personnel record law of Massachusetts.

The law gives you four rights:

• A free copy of your personnel record within five business days of a written request.
• Two reviews per calendar year. A review that follows a notice of negative information does not count toward the two.
• A notice within 10 days each time your employer adds information that is or may be used against your qualification for a job, a promotion, a transfer, a raise, or that could lead to discipline.
• A written rebuttal. If you and your employer cannot agree to correct or remove something, your statement becomes part of the file and must be sent along with it to any third party.

This is a state law, not a federal one. If you work outside New York, your right to see your file depends on your own state's rules.

• Current and former employees. The law defines an employee as a person "currently employed or formerly employed" by the employer. If you left a job recently, you can still ask.
• Private and public employers, including state and local government employers, labor organizations and the agents of an employer. There is no minimum number of employees.
• Union members: if your collective bargaining agreement already gives you access that is at least substantially similar, the agreement applies instead.

The law does not cover applicants who were never hired. If you applied to a company and did not get the job, it gives you no right to see what the company kept about your application.

The law defines a personnel record as any record that identifies you and is or may be used for decisions on hiring, promotion, transfer, extra pay or discipline. It includes records kept for your employer by an outside HR or payroll provider. When your employer prepared them, these documents are part of it:

Information about another person is left out when sharing it would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of their privacy.

1. Put it in writing. The five-day clock starts with a written request. An email to HR works and leaves a dated trace.
2. Name the law and ask for the complete record, including documents held by a payroll or HR vendor.
3. Count five business days. The copy must be free. Note the date you sent the request and the date you received the file.
4. Read it line by line: job title, start date, pay, evaluations, warnings. Compare it with your own records.
5. Dispute what is wrong. Ask for a correction first. If your employer refuses, send a short written statement and ask that it be added to the file.

Your personnel record is the employer's version of your work history. Reading it before you apply elsewhere helps in three ways:

• Exact dates and titles. A background check often confirms your employment dates and job title. Use the ones in your file on your resume, so a mismatch does not raise a question you then have to explain.
• Achievements you forgot. Performance evaluations often record goals you hit and projects you led. They make good material for the bullet points of your resume and for interview answers.
• No surprises. If a warning or a termination notice is in the file, you know about it before an interviewer asks why you left, and you can prepare a short, honest answer.

Leaving your job? Our resignation letter template covers the notice you give before you go.

• Retaliation is illegal. An employer cannot fire, threaten, penalize or discriminate against you for using these rights. The law counts threatening to report your or a family member's immigration status as retaliation.
• Fines. Each violation can be fined from $500 to $2,500. The New York Attorney General enforces the law.
• False information. If your employer put information in the file that it knew or should have known was false, you can seek to have it removed through your union agreement, internal procedures or the courts.
• Three years. Your employer must keep the complete record, without deletions, until three years after your job ends.

When she signed the bill, Governor Hochul flagged ambiguities and agreed with the Legislature on amendments. As reported by law firms, they should clarify that employers do not have to create new documents and should narrow the definition of a personnel record. They are not expected before the November 8 start date. We will update this page if the law changes.