Senate Bill S8509A

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8509                 Revised 2/26/24

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to requests for
employee personnel records

 
PURPOSE:

To provide public employees with notice whenever their personal informa-
tion has been released to the public pursuant to a request under the
freedom of information law.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 87 of the public officers law by adding a new
subdivision 6 to require every agency or public employer to provide
written notification to an employee that a request for information
pursuant to FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) has been submitted seeking
such employee's personnel records. The notification shall list any docu-
ments requested, provided, or copied for dissemination or public
              

inspection. Upon official notification from the employer that a request
for information pursuant to the provisions of this article has been
submitted seeking an employee's personnel record, such employee shall be
given the ability to inspect their personnel file or any document refer-
encing the employee as part of the information request. This section
shall not be a restriction to an employee's right to inspect their
personnel file pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, or other
law.

Section 2 makes this act take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Article 6 of the Public Officers law provides the public, and the press
by extension, the right to access to records maintained by government
agencies including certain information contained within the personnel
records of public employees.

From the Legislative Intent of Article 6 of the Public Officers Law "As
state and local government services increase and public problems become
more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and with
the resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it is incumbent
upon the state and its localities to extend public accountability wher-
ever and whenever feasible.

The people's right to know the process of governmental decisionmaking
and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is
basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted
by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality. The legis-
lature therefore declares that government is the public's business and
that the public, individually and collectively and represented by a free
press, should have access to the records of government ..."

This bill does not seek to change any records or information required to
be released under a FOIL request, it simply seeks to provide notice and

a review period to any public employee(s)whose personnel record(s) have
been requested pursuant to the state's freedom of information law.

Public employees are often the point of contact for policy decisions and
laws. When the public is upset with a decision or outcome of a policy or
law, they often look for the reason behind such decisions/outcomes and
one avenue is the public employees implementing the decisions/policy.
Providing a public employee whose information is subject to a foil
request with the opportunity. to review and possibly correct any errone-
ous information prior to dissemination is a limited and proper employee
protection.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New legislation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

none

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

none

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective on the thirtieth day after it shall become law.