Earlier this month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill S.3460 (the “NYS Personnel Records Law”), requiring employers to provide employees the right to access their personnel records, receive notice of negative information in such records and submit a written statement expressing their disagreement with any information in their personnel files. When signing the New York Personnel Records Law, Governor Hochul acknowledged that certain “ambiguities” will need to be resolved in a future legislative session, including clarifying that employers need not create new documents beyond the records they currently maintain. The law will become effective on November 8, 2026.
Also, Connecticut enacted H.B. 5003 (the “CT Pay Transparency Law”), requiring employers to disclose the wage range and a general description of benefits for both internal and external job postings. The CT Pay Transparency Law expands the state’s current requirements, under which employers must disclose the wage range for a position to an applicant upon request or at the time a compensation offer was made (whichever occurs first). This law will become effective on October 1, 2026.
NYS Personnel Records Law Requirements
Background
The NYS Personnel Records Law, which is modeled after the Massachusetts Personnel Record Law,[1] will create a statutory right under New York Labor Law for current and former employees to access their personnel records.[2] New York joins at least 17 other states that have enacted personnel records access laws. For example, the Connecticut Personnel Files Act [3] requires employers to permit current and former employees the right to review, copy and request correction of their personnel files. In Governor Hochul’s approval memo filed when she signed the bill into law, she noted that the bill as drafted includes certain “ambiguities” that will need to be addressed.[4] Specifically, she explained that these 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.” The approval memo states that Governor Hochul approved the bill on the basis of an agreement with the Legislature to “address these concerns in the upcoming legislative session.”
Definitions
The NYS Personnel Records Law defines a “personnel record” as “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.”[5] This includes records maintained by third parties (e.g., a PEO) who contract with employers to keep or supply personnel files. The law does not cover information “of a personal nature” about someone other than the employee where disclosure would constitute a “clearly unwarranted invasion of such other person’s privacy.”[6]
The law includes the following non-exhaustive list of the information that must be included in the personnel record,[7] to the extent the items exist:
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Name, address, date of birth, job title and description;
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Rate of pay and any other compensation paid to the employee;
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Start date;
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Job applications;
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Resumes or other forms of employment inquiry submitted in response to the employer’s advertisement;
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All performance evaluations, including but not limited to employee evaluation documents;
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Written performance warnings;
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Lists of probationary periods;
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Waivers signed by the employee;
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Copies of dated termination notices; and
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Any disciplinary records.
Employee Access to Personnel Records
The law grants employees the right to obtain copies of their personnel records two times in a calendar year.[8] After receiving a written request for access, employers will be required to provide the employee a copy of their personnel records within five business days of the request and at no cost to the employee. This law will not supersede a collective bargaining agreement that provides at least substantially similar access to personnel records.[9]
Notice of Negative Information
The law will require employers to notify employees within 10 days when negative information is added to their file. Negative information includes any information that has negatively affected or may “negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or the possibility that the employee will be subject to disciplinary action.”[10] An employee’s request to review their record following a negative information notice will not count toward the two requests per year limit.
Right to Dispute Personnel Records
If an employee disagrees with any information in their personnel record, the employer and employee may mutually agree to correct or remove such information.[11] If they cannot agree, employees may submit a written statement explaining their position, which will become part of their file. When sharing the file with a third party, employers will be required to include the employee statement as part of the personnel record if the original information is still included in the file.
Anti-Retaliation Provision
It is unlawful to discriminate or retaliate against any employee for exercising their rights under the NYS Personnel Records Law.[12]
Recordkeeping Requirements
Employers will be required to retain the complete personnel record for the duration of employment and for three years after the employee’s separation.[13]
Enforcement and Remedies
The New York State Attorney General will enforce the law, and violations will be punishable by fines not less than $500 up to $2,500.[14] Employees may seek to have information “which [their] employer knew or should have known to be false” expunged from their records through “the collective bargaining agreement, other personnel procedures or judicial process.”[15]
CT Pay Transparency Law
Existing Requirements
Since 2021, Connecticut law has required employers to disclose the wage range for a position to an applicant upon the earliest of an applicant’s request or prior to or at the time a compensation offer is made.[16] In addition, the existing law prohibits employers from (i) restricting employees from disclosing or discussing their or another employee’s wages; (ii) prohibiting employee inquiries into wages; (iii) requiring employees to sign a waiver regarding wage transparency; (iv) inquiring about an applicant’s wage or salary history, directly or through a third party, unless the applicant voluntarily discloses such information; and (v) taking adverse action against employees for engaging in protected wage-related activity.[17]
Wage Range and Benefits Description Requirement
The CT Pay Transparency Law will require employers to disclose in an internal or public job posting (1) the wages or wage range and (2) a general description of the benefits for the position.[18]
The new disclosure requirements will apply to all employers, regardless of employer size, and will apply to positions performed in Connecticut and positions performed outside of the state if they require the employee to report directly to an office or supervisor based in Connecticut.[19]
With respect to job applicants, the information must be provided upon the earliest of their request or prior to any discussion of compensation or an offer of compensation, to the extent it was not already made available through an internal or public job posting.
With respect to employees, the information must be provided upon their hiring, a change in the employee’s position or the employee’s first request for a wage range.
The CT Pay Transparency Law expands the state’s disclosure requirements to align with other states’ requirements, including New York, Massachusetts and Illinois. New York requires employers to disclose compensation or range of compensation when advertising an opportunity for a job, promotion or transfer.[20] Like Connecticut, Illinois requires employers to include pay scale and benefits in job postings and, for opportunities that have not been made available via public or internal postings, employers must disclose the pay scale and benefits “prior to any offer or discussion of compensation and at the applicant’s request.”[21]
Definitions
The CT Pay Transparency Law added the definition of “benefits,” which means “health insurance benefits, retirement benefits, fringe benefits, paid leave and any other compensation other than wages to be offered with a position.”[22]
The law also revised the definition of “wage range” to mean “range of wages an employer sets in good faith for a position.”[23] The existing law defined “wage range” as “range of wages an employer anticipates relying on when setting wages for a position.”[24]
Expanded Anti-Retaliation Provision
The CT Pay Transparency Law now expressly prohibits retaliation or discrimination against an applicant or employee for exercising their rights under the statute.[25]
Statute of Limitations and Remedies
Applicants or employees may bring a lawsuit against their employer under the law within two years of alleged violations. Available remedies include compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, and other legal and equitable relief—removing punitive damages available under the existing law.[26]
Implications for New York Employers
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Employers may wish to review their personnel records policies and procedures to ensure that they satisfy the requirements under the New York Personnel Records law, including timely response to employee requests and timely notice to employees when negative information is added to their personnel records.
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Employers may wish to ensure that records maintained by third parties (e.g., a PEO) who maintain personnel files on their behalf can be timely identified and produced within the statutory timeline.
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Employers may wish to review their document retention policies and procedures to ensure that complete personnel records are preserved throughout employment and for three years after separation.
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Employers may wish to ensure that relevant HR personnel and managers understand the legal requirements, including its prohibition against retaliation.
Implications for Connecticut Employers
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Employers may wish to review and update internal and external job posting templates to include the wage or wage range and a general description of benefits.
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Employers may wish to develop standardized benefits descriptions and formalize and document good-faith wage ranges for all positions.
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Employers may wish to implement procedures to disclose the wage range and benefits description to job applicants who did not receive such information via internal or external postings and for current employees.
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Employers may wish to ensure that relevant HR personnel, recruiters and hiring managers understand the new disclosure requirements.
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Employers may wish to review remote work arrangements to ensure compliance with new disclosure requirements since the law applies to positions performed out-of-state if they report directly to an office or supervisor based in Connecticut.
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[1] Senate Bill S.3460 Sponsor Memo, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S3460.
[2] N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b.
[3] Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 31-128a et seq., available at https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/pub/chap_563a.htm.
[4] Governor Hochul, Approval Memorandum – No. 3 Chapter 293, filed with Senate Bill Number 3460.
[5] N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b(1)(c).
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id. § 210-b(2).
[9] Id. § 210-b(6).
[10] Id. § 210-b(2).
[11] Id. § 210-b(3).
[12] N.Y. Lab. Law § 210-b(8).
[13] Id. § 210-b(4).
[14] Id. § 210-b(7).
[15] Id. § 210-b(3).
[16] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z(b)(8).
[17] Id. § 31-40z(b)(1)–(7).
[18] H.B. 5003 § 2(b)(10).
[19] Id. § 2(a)(2), (f).
[20] N.Y. Lab. Law § 194-b, available at https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/LAB/194-B.
[21] 820 ILCS 112/10(b-25), available at https://ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/082001120K10.htm.
[22] H.B. 5003 § 2(a)(1).
[23] Id. § 2(a)(5) (emphasis added).
[24] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z(a)(4).
[25] H.B. 5003 § 2(b)(11).
[26] Id. § 2(d)–(e).
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