Looming Compliance Changes for NY Employers: Personnel Records Access, Construction Pay Reporting + More

Takeaways

• Beginning 11.08.26, New York employees and former employees will have broad rights to access their personnel records and employers will be obligated to notify employees when negative information is added to their files.
• Effective 12.08.26, construction industry employers will have show-up and scheduling pay compliance requirements. 
• Several additional employment-related bills passed during the 2025–2026 legislative session await the governor’s signature, many of which would take effect immediately upon signing.

Related link

• New York State Bill Search and Legislative Information

Article

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed two bills creating new compliance obligations for employers. Beginning Nov. 8, 2026, S3460 gives current and former employees broad rights to access their personnel records and be notified when negative information is added. Beginning Dec. 8, 2026, A6950 requires pay for construction workers who report to a job or have shifts cancelled on short notice.

S3460: Employee Personnel Records Access

S3460 adds Section 210-b to the New York Labor Law (NYLL), applies to all New York employers, and covers both current and former employees. Following are the new law’s key employer obligations:

• Broad definition of “personnel record.” The law expansively defines “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.” The definition includes records maintained by third parties pursuant to a contractual agreement with the employer. It excludes information about other individuals where disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

  The following information must be maintained in the personnel record, to the extent prepared by an employer regarding an employee: (1) name, address, date of birth, job title, and job description; (2) rate of pay and any other compensation paid; (3) starting date of employment; (4) job application, resumes, or other employment inquiry forms submitted in response to an advertisement; (5) performance evaluations; (6) written warnings of substandard performance; (7) lists of probationary periods; (8) waivers signed by the employee; and (9) copies of dated termination notices.

• Notice of negative information. Employers must notify an employee within 10 days of placing “negative information” in the employee’s personnel record. Negative information includes any information that “has been used, or may affect or be used, to negatively affect the employee’s qualification for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, or the possibility of disciplinary action.” This concept and vague definition, which is similar to Massachusetts law, will likely present compliance challenges. Although written warnings, disciplinary notices, and negative performance evaluations appear to plainly fall within the requirement and such documents likely are provided to employees directly (and a note in the document of placement in the personnel file will satisfy the requirement), coverage of scenarios like a supervisor’s internal notes placed in a file without delivery to the employee may be more questionable.

• Employee right of access. Employers must provide a copy of a current or former employee’s personnel record within five business days of a written request for file access, at no cost. Employees may make up to two such requests per calendar year. 
   
• Right to respond and dispute. If an employee disagrees with information in their personnel record, the employer and employee can mutually agree to remove or correct it. If they cannot reach agreement, the employee may submit a written statement explaining their position, which becomes part of the personnel record and must be included whenever the disputed information is transmitted to a third party. Additionally, if an employer places information in a record that it knew or should have known to be false, the employee may pursue a remedy through a collective bargaining agreement, personnel procedures, or judicial process to have the information expunged.
   
• Retention requirements. Employers must retain complete personnel records for three years after termination.
   
• Enforcement and Penalties. The attorney general may bring enforcement actions with fines of $500–$2,500 per violation. Retaliation is prohibited.
   

Best Practices for Employers

• Audit existing personnel files to determine what documents are maintained in employee personnel records and whether those records align with the broad statutory definition.
• Create protocols to ensure that timely notice is provided to employees whenever negative information is added to a personnel record. This may require evaluating how performance documentation is generated, reviewed, and maintained and training managers and HR professionals. 
• Establish access request procedures to respond within the five-business-day window.
• Confirm retention practices meet the three-year post-termination requirement.

A6950: Construction Reporting Pay Act

A6950, the “Construction Reporting Pay Act,” adds Sections 224-g (prevailing-wage projects) and 196-e (construction generally) to the Labor Law. Following are the new law’s key employer obligations:

• Covered employers and employees. The law’s general provision covers employees “engaged in construction” under Labor Law Section 861-b(1). The prevailing wage provision applies to laborers, workers, and mechanics on public work. The law does not apply where posted prevailing rates already exceed statutory minimums.
   
• Show-up pay. Construction employees who report to work at the employer’s request must be paid at least four hours (or the shorter scheduled shift) at the employee’s hourly rate. On projects covered by prevailing-wage laws, workers who report to a job must receive at least four hours at the prevailing rate (including supplements); late cancellations trigger two hours at that rate.
   
• Scheduling pay. Shifts cancelled with less than 12 hours’ notice trigger two hours of pay. On projects covered by prevailing wage laws, workers must receive two hours at the prevailing wage rate (including supplements). 
   
• Amounts owed are wages. The law expressly provides that amounts owed under Section 196-e constitute wages.

Best Practices for Employers

• Review scheduling and dispatch procedures.
• Establish procedures for notifying workers of cancellations to ensure minimum notice was provided.
• Ensure payroll can process reporting pay and scheduling pay at applicable rates.
• Train supervisors that scheduling and cancellation decisions trigger wage obligations.

Additional Legislation Awaiting Signature

Several additional bills passed during the 2025–2026 session await Gov. Hochul’s signature, and many would take effect immediately upon signing. Here are key bills New York employers should continue to monitor:

• No Severance Ultimatums Act (A6480/S372). Employers offering severance agreements that require releasing waivable claims would need to: (1) notify the employee of their right to consult an attorney; (2) provide at least 21 calendar days to consider the agreement; and (3) allow a seven-day revocation period. Noncompliant agreements would be void. These requirements mirror federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act protections for employees 40 and older but would extend them to all ages. If signed, the law takes effect immediately.
   
• Anti-Waiver of Employment Rights Act (A5411/S4424). This bill would invalidate provisions waiving employee rights under the Labor Law and Human Rights Law, including shortened limitations periods. Limited exceptions apply for settlement and post-termination agreements. If signed, the law takes effect immediately.
   
• Wage Payment Integrity Act (A2222/S2236). This bill would expand the definition of “wages” to include any compensation (such as bonuses) not payable at the employer’s “sole and absolute discretion.” For compensation to fall outside this definition, employers must notify employees in a “clear, prominent, timely, and uncontradicted fashion” that payment is discretionary. Additionally, if an employer cannot produce required written pay terms upon request, a presumption arises that the employee’s version is correct. If signed, the law takes effect immediately.
   
• Required disclosures of non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions (A618/S496). Employers would be required to inform employees that non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions do not prohibit them from communicating with law enforcement, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the state Division of Human Rights, local human rights commissions, or their own attorneys. If signed, the law takes effect immediately.
   
• “Ghost job” posting disclosure requirements (A6292/S8877). Employers with at least 100 employees and third-party job platforms would need to disclose whether a job posting is for a current vacancy (to be filled within 90 days), a future vacancy (after 90 days), or a resume pipeline with no current opening. Disclosures must appear in bold capitals. Listings must be removed within two weeks of filling the position. If signed, the law takes effect immediately.
   
• Sexual harassment prevention acknowledgment requirements (A368/S10057). Employers must obtain signed acknowledgments when providing harassment prevention materials, give seven days’ notice of policy changes, and retain acknowledgments for six years. Effective 90 days after enactment if signed.
   
• AI workplace impact reporting (A9581/S8706). Businesses with more than 50 employees or are publicly traded companies in New York would file annual reports with the state labor department on AI’s staffing impact (including displacement, reduced hours, and unfilled positions) beginning March 1, 2027.

Jackson Lewis attorneys will continue to monitor these developments and provide updates as additional guidance becomes available. Contact a Jackson Lewis attorney if you have questions or need confidential, forward-looking guidance handling workplace issues.