Senate Bill S4726

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4726

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
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) seeking such employee's
personnel records has been approved for a response. The notification
shall list any documents requested, provided, or copied for dissem-
ination or public inspection. Upon official notification from the
employer that a request for information pursuant to the provisions of
this article seeking an employee's personnel record has been approved,
such employee shall be given the ability to inspect their personnel file
or any document referencing 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 decision making
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:

2024: S.8509A - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS/
A.9211A -referred to governmental operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

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