No federal law gives an employee the right to access and inspect their personnel file maintained by their employer—but some state laws do. Many states require public employers to allow employees to access and inspect their personnel files—and some states require private employers to do so as well.

Some states limit an employee’s right to access and inspect their personnel file to certain documents—and some states require an employer to provide employees with certain documents (such as a disciplinary document) within a certain number of days after it is placed in the employee’s personnel file (known as an adverse-action notice).

Laws regarding whether employees have the right to access and inspect their personnel file—and if so, the circumstances under which they may do so—are generally located in a state’s statutes.

In New York, there is no specific state statute that grants all employees the right to access and inspect their personnel files. However, certain categories of employees, such as public sector employees, may have this right under specific laws or collective bargaining agreements. For example, New York Civil Service Law provides that public employees have the right to review their personnel files. In the private sector, there is no general entitlement, and the matter is typically left to the discretion of the employer unless an employment contract or union agreement provides otherwise. Additionally, while New York does not have a statute that requires private employers to provide employees with adverse-action notices, some employers may have policies in place that align with best practices or are stipulated by industry regulations or union contracts.