Senate Bill 3460 imposes significant new obligations on virtually all employers in the state regarding notification, recordkeeping and retention of employee personnel records as well as anti-retaliation, each carrying financial penalties for noncompliance.
On September 9, 2026, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill 3460 into law, which adds a new Section 210-b to the New York Labor Law, establishing employee rights to access, obtain a copy of, inspect and dispute the contents of their personnel records. The law takes effect November 8, 2026.
S3460 imposes significant new obligations on virtually all employers in the state regarding notification, recordkeeping and retention of employee personnel records as well as anti-retaliation, each carrying financial penalties for noncompliance.
Notably, when signing the bill, Governor Hochul acknowledged in her Approval Memorandum that the bill as drafted contains ambiguities that needed to be resolved, and that she reached an agreement with the New York Legislature (as she did when signing New York’s Trapped at Work Act, which we discussed in our recent Alert) to address those ambiguities in the 2027 New York legislative session. The uncertainties include “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.”
This Alert summarizes the key provisions of the law in its current form and addresses practical steps that employers can take to prepare for compliance. We will continue to monitor this law and keep employers apprised when any amendments are implemented.
Who Is Covered
The law defines “employer” expansively, covering nearly all employers in New York—including commercial enterprises, governmental entities and their agents. Third-party contractors who maintain personnel records on an employer’s behalf are also subject to the law’s requirements. Both current and former employees may exercise rights under the statute.
“Personnel Record” Definition
A “personnel record” is defined as “a record kept by an employer [or by a contracted agent of the 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.” (Emphasis added.) The following documents, to the extent prepared by an employer, are included in the definition:
- The employee’s name, address and date of birth;
- Job title and description;
- Rate of pay and any other compensation paid to the employee;
- Starting date of employment;
- Job applications, resumes and other forms of employment inquiry submitted to the employer in response to the employer’s advertisement;
- Waivers signed by the employee;
- Performance evaluations;
- Written warnings of substandard performance;
- List of probationary periods;
- Dated termination notices; and
- Any other documents relating to disciplinary action.
Importantly, the definition excludes “information of a personal nature about a person other than the employee if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of such other person’s privacy.” Notably, the law does not impose an affirmative obligation to create a personnel record for employees.
Key Employer Obligations
Notification to Employee of Negative Information
An employer must notify an employee within 10 days of placing any information in the employee’s personnel record that is, has been or may be used to negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or the possibility of disciplinary action.
Providing Copies of Personnel Records
An employer that receives a written request from an employee must provide a free copy of the employee’s complete personnel record within five business days of receiving the request. While employers may limit employee-initiated reviews to two per calendar year, reviews initiated by negative information newly added to the personnel record do not count toward the two-review limit.
Record Retention
An employer must retain the complete personnel record, without deletions or expungement, throughout employment and for three years after termination.
Written Personnel Policy Maintenance
Under the law, an employer that “elects to have a written personnel policy regarding the terms and conditions of employment” must maintain the policy at the office of the employer where personnel matters are administered. This ambiguous language seems to suggest that if employers have written policies and procedures, the personnel record access rights provided by the law should be included.
Employee Rights to Contest Records
If an employee disagrees with any information in the personnel record, the employer and employee may mutually agree to remove or correct it. If no agreement is reached, the employee may submit a written statement explaining their position, which must become part of the personnel record. The law also provides employees with the right to seek expungement of any information in a personnel record that the employer knew or should have known was false. The law provides that the employee may use “other personnel procedures or judicial process to have such information expunged.” As currently drafted, the law is unclear as to the precise mechanism for the judicial process an employee should use to seek expungement.
Collective Bargaining Agreements
The law provides that “[n]othing in [S3460] shall be construed to supersede the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, provided, however, that such agreement provides at least substantially similar access by an employee to their personnel records as that provided by [S3460].” Therefore, the law does not override the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. If the collective bargaining agreement contains language providing for substantially similar personnel record access as provided in the law, employers should be able to rely on the collective bargaining agreement for compliance.
Retaliation Prohibited
The law includes robust anti-retaliation protections: Employers may not discharge, threaten, penalize or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against any employee who exercises their rights under the law. The anti-retaliation provision expressly prohibits threats to contact or contacting immigration authorities regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an employee or their family or household member.
Enforcement
The law provides that it will be enforced by the New York attorney general.
What This Means for Employers
The new law takes effect on November 8, 2026. Given the expanded personnel record access rights, employers should consider:
- Updating employee handbooks or other personnel policies. Employers should consider revising or creating new policies to address employees’ new rights to access personnel records and establish consistent procedures for handling access requests. Consider creating standardized forms for the 10-day negative information notice, employee record requests and employee rebuttal statements.
- Adding language to collective bargaining agreements that indicates that the agreements provide substantially similar or more beneficial access by an employee to their personnel records as provided for by S3460 (if that is the case) and as a result, in accordance with S3460, the requirements of the law are waived.
- Auditing current recordkeeping practices to ensure personnel files are complete, properly maintained and stored in compliance with the bill’s format and retention requirements.
- Training human resources personnel and managers on proper administration of the law, including the new notification timelines, permissible limits on record reviews, anti-retaliation obligations and the proper handling of employee disputes over record contents.
- Assessing third-party vendor agreements. If any personnel records are maintained by outside contractors, confirm that the vendor agreements support compliance with S3460.
We will continue to monitor developments and provide further updates as warranted.
For More Information
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Eve I. Klein, Katelynn Gray, Poline Pourmorady, Genevieve Burger-Weiser, Sahar Merchant, Jessica Goldstein, any of the attorneys in our Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group or the attorney at the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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