Requires an agency responding to a request for public employee disciplinary records to develop a policy to notify the public employee whose personal information is subject to the request.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6146B
SPONSOR: Buttenschon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the disclosure
of public employee disciplinary records
PURPOSE:
To provide all public employees with notice whenever their personal
information has been released to the public pursuant to a FOIL request.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 87 of the Public Officers Law by
adding a new subdivision 6 to effectuate the purposes of the legis-
lation.
Section 2 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.
EXISTING LAW:
Under current law, the notice contemplated by this proposed legislation
is not required.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, a public employee who has a FOIL request placed on
them; will have no notification of this request. In a time when vacan-
cies continue to rise for our public sector, this discrepancy doesn't
aid the recruitment and retention of individuals for this field. We have
failed to ensure that these dedicated civil servants whose personal
information is subject to a FOIL request be provided any form of notice
of such disclosure. This legislation simply recognizes that these
impacted public employees should have minimum notice when their personal
information has been released to the public.
This proposed legislation would have no effect on the release of infor-
mation that is now permissible following the changes to the Civil Rights
Law and the Public Officers Law in 2020. Rather, it would simply ensure
that if a public employee's personal information has been released to
the public, then such affected employee would have notice of such
release.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
