Governor signs Skoufis bill creating employee notification for NYSCOPBA FOIL requests

A bill sponsored by Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D, Utica) and supported by the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) has been signed into law.

The legislation directs state agencies, including the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, to develop a policy to notify public employees if their disciplinary records were requested as a result of a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. The law was specifically drafted and introduced on behalf of the members of NYSCOPBA in direct response to the repeal of the provision of subsection 50-a of the Civil Rights Law in 2020.

“This legislation very simply provides notice to our corrections officers and other public servants when their disciplinary records have been requested under the freedom of information law,” Skoufis said, noting “this effort that adds new, fair standards to the process.”

The new law now requires agencies to develop policies for providing notification to public employees whose disciplinary records have been sought through a FOIL request under state law.  When 50-A was repealed, long-standing privacy protections were eliminated making the personnel records of law enforcement officers in New York accessible to the public through a simple FOIL request.  NYSCOPBA has maintained the position that if the public is entitled to access certain records of public employees, then those public employees should be similarly entitled to notification when their records have been accessed.

NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers said, “their members and other law enforcement throughout this State perform one of the most important roles in safeguarding our communities and they deserve protection from unnecessary and unwarranted invasions of their privacy.   This legislation is a step in the right direction to safeguard their ability to perform their duties efficiently.”