N.Y. Labor Law § 210-b: Access to personnel records

* § 210-b. Access to personnel records. 1. As used in this section,

the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires

otherwise, have the following meanings:

(a) "Employee" means a person currently employed or formerly employed

by an employer.

(b) "Employer" means any individual, corporation, partnership, labor

organization, unincorporated association or any other legal business,

including any governmental entity or public employer as defined in

paragraph (a) of subdivision six of section two hundred one of the civil

service law, and any commercial entity, including agents of such

employer.

(c) "Personnel record" means a record kept by an 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. A personnel record shall include a

record in the possession of a person, corporation, partnership or other

association that has a contractual agreement with the employer to keep

or supply a personnel record as provided in this section. A personnel

record shall not include 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. Without limiting the applicability or generality of the

foregoing, all of the following written information or documents to the

extent prepared by an employer regarding an employee shall be included

in the personnel record for that employee: the name, address, date of

birth, job title and description; rate of pay and any other compensation

paid to the employee; starting date of employment; the job application

of the employee; resumes or other forms of employment inquiry submitted

to the employer in response to the employer's advertisement by the

employee; all employee performance evaluations, including but not

limited to, employee evaluation documents; written warnings of

substandard performance; lists of probationary periods; waivers signed

by the employee; copies of dated termination notices; any other

documents relating to disciplinary action regarding the employee. A

personnel record shall be maintained in typewritten or printed form or

may be handwritten in indelible ink.

2. An employer shall notify an employee within ten days of the

employer placing in the employee's personnel record any information to

the extent that the information is, has been used or may be used, to

negatively affect the employee's qualification for employment,

promotion, transfer, additional compensation or the possibility that the

employee will be subject to disciplinary action. An employer receiving a

written request from an employee to access such employee's personnel

record shall provide the employee with a copy of such personnel record,

at no cost to the employee, within five business days of submission of a

written request for such copy to the employer. An employer shall not be

required to allow an employee to review the employee's personnel record

on more than two separate occasions in a calendar year; provided,

however, that the notification and review caused by the placing of

negative information in the personnel record shall not be deemed to be

one of the two annually permitted reviews.

3. If there is a disagreement with any information contained in a

personnel record, removal or correction of such information may be

mutually agreed upon by the employer and the employee. If an agreement

is not reached, the employee may submit a written statement explaining

the employee's position which shall be contained and become a part of

such employee's personnel record. The statement shall be included when

said information is transmitted to a third party as long as the original

information is retained as part of the file. If an employer places any

information in a personnel record which such employer knew or should

have known to be false, the employee shall have remedy through the

collective bargaining agreement, other personnel procedures or judicial

process to have such information expunged. The provisions of this

section shall not prohibit the removal of information contained in a

personnel record upon mutual agreement of the employer and employee for

any reason.

4. An employer shall retain the complete personnel record of any

employee as required to be kept under this section without deletions or

expungement of information from the date of employment of such employee

to a date three years after the termination of employment of the

employee with such employer.

5. If an employer elects to have a written personnel policy regarding

the terms and conditions of employment, such personnel policy, as the

same may be amended from time to time, shall be continuously maintained

at the office of such employer where personnel matters are administered.

6. Nothing in this section 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 this section.

7. Any violation of this section by an employer or any other person

shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than

twenty-five hundred dollars. This section shall be enforced by the

attorney general.

8. No employer or any other person shall discharge, threaten,

penalize, or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate against any

employee who exercises such employee's rights under this section. As

used in this section, to threaten, penalize, or in any other manner

discriminate or retaliate against an employee includes, but is not

limited to, threatening to contact or contacting United States

immigration authorities or otherwise reporting or threatening to report

an employee's suspected citizenship or immigration status or the

suspected citizenship or immigration status of an employee's family or

household member, as defined in subdivision two of section four hundred

fifty-nine-a of the social services law, to a federal, state or local

agency.

* NB Effective November 8, 2026