Is What I Tell HR Confidential in New York?

Not fully. A human resources department is part of the employer's management, and what you report to it can be shared with the people who need it to investigate and respond. New York State's model sexual harassment prevention policy promises that an investigation will be kept confidential "to the extent possible," and the same policy has the employer interview all parties and notify the person complained about when the investigation ends.⁠^[1] Specific laws do protect particular kinds of information, such as medical records and personnel files, and those are set out below.

Why can't HR promise to keep a complaint secret?

Because the policy that New York State law calls for is built around acting on complaints. Under New York State Labor Law § 201-g, every employer's sexual harassment prevention policy must include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints that ensures due process for all parties.⁠^[6] "Confidential" in that sentence sits next to "investigation" and "due process for all parties," and an investigation cannot happen without telling some people what was alleged.

The State model policy spells out who gets involved:

• Supervisors and managers who receive a complaint or suspect harassment must report it to the person or office the employer designates, and can be disciplined for failing to report.⁠^[2]
• An investigation happens whenever management receives a complaint about discrimination or sexual harassment or otherwise knows it may be occurring.⁠^[7]
• The employer seeks to interview all parties involved and relevant witnesses.⁠^[1]
• The person who reported and the person complained about are both notified when the investigation is complete.⁠^[1]

The anti-discrimination statutes push in the same direction. Under federal law (Title VII, as the Second Circuit applies it), an employer can be held liable for coworker harassment if it failed to provide a reasonable avenue for complaint, or if it knew, or with reasonable care should have known, about the harassment and failed to take appropriate remedial action.⁠^[8] Under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), an employer is deemed to know about an employee's discriminatory conduct once a manager or supervisor knows, and is liable if it then fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.⁠^[9] Those rules give an employer a reason to act once a manager knows, even when the employee asks that nothing be done.

The steps of the process are in what happens in an HR investigation, and the choice of who to tell is covered in how to report harassment or discrimination.

What does "confidential to the extent possible" mean in practice?

The State model policy uses the phrase without a definition. Its own steps show the outline: the written record of the investigation is kept in a secure location, while the parties and witnesses are interviewed and both sides are told when the matter is closed.⁠^[1] In practical terms, expect that the investigator, the decision-makers, the person you complained about and the witnesses will each learn at least part of what you said. Expect also that the employer will try to keep it from spreading further than that.

Confidentiality under the model policy is a commitment by the employer. Your protection if word gets around and you are treated worse for it comes from the retaliation rules, not from secrecy:

Layer	Retaliation rule
Federal (Title VII)	An employer may not discriminate against an employee because the employee opposed a practice Title VII makes unlawful or participated in a Title VII investigation, proceeding or hearing.⁠[10]
New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)	No covered person may retaliate against anyone because the person opposed a forbidden practice, filed a complaint, testified or assisted in a proceeding, or requested a reasonable accommodation.⁠[11]
NYCHRL (New York City)	No covered person may retaliate "in any manner" for the same kinds of acts, and the retaliation need not be an ultimate action or a materially adverse change in employment if it is reasonably likely to deter protected activity.⁠[12]

The State model policy's own examples of retaliation include publicly releasing personnel files and labeling an employee as "difficult."⁠^[13] See what workplace retaliation is.

What information does the law protect?

These rules are narrower than a general promise of privacy, but they are legal duties with their own sources.

Information	Layer	Rule
Medical information given to support an accommodation request	New York State	Under the NYSHRL, the employee must cooperate in providing medical information needed to verify the disability or consider the accommodation, and has a right to have that information kept confidential.⁠[3]
Results of employer medical examinations and inquiries	Federal	Under the ADA, the information is kept on separate forms in separate medical files and treated as a confidential medical record. Supervisors may be told of necessary work restrictions and accommodations, first aid and safety personnel may be told if emergency treatment might be needed, and government compliance investigators may be given relevant information.⁠[14][15]
Accommodation documentation	New York City	The NYC Commission on Human Rights says an employer generally cannot require disclosure of the specific diagnosis, may not ask for unrelated documentation such as complete medical records, and must keep what is shared confidential.⁠[16]
The reason for sick leave	New York State	Under Labor Law § 196-b, an employer may not require disclosure of confidential information about an illness or health condition as a condition of providing sick leave.⁠[17]
Personnel files	New York State	Under the NYSHRL, retaliation may include disclosing an employee's personnel files because the employee opposed discrimination or took part in a proceeding, except where the disclosure is made in the course of a legal proceeding as permitted by law.⁠[4]
Social Security number, home address, personal email and similar identifiers	New York State	Under Labor Law § 203-d, unless otherwise required by law, an employer may not communicate an employee's personal identifying information to the general public.⁠[18]

For the medical rules in full, see can my employer ask about my medical condition? and how to request a reasonable accommodation.

Is what I write on a work computer private?

Treat it as visible to the employer. New York State regulates employer monitoring by notice: under Civil Rights Law § 52-c, a private employer with a place of business in New York that monitors employees' telephone, email or internet use must give prior written notice on hiring and obtain the employee's acknowledgment.⁠^[19] As a practical matter, a message to a friend, a family member or a lawyer sent from a work account or device may be read by the employer. Employer monitoring and personnel files covers that statute.

Who can I talk to confidentially before I decide?

Several outside channels come with their own confidentiality rules. None of them is the employer, so talking to them does not start an internal investigation.

• A lawyer. Under New York's Rules of Professional Conduct, a person who consults a lawyer about possibly hiring them is a prospective client, and even if no relationship follows, the lawyer may not use or reveal information learned in the consultation except as the rules would permit for a former client.⁠^[5]
• The State's workplace sexual harassment hotline. New York State law has the Division of Human Rights operate a toll-free confidential hotline for people with workplace sexual harassment complaints and recruit experienced attorneys to give callers pro bono assistance and counsel; those attorneys may not solicit further representation of the callers they advise.⁠^[20] The State model policy gives the number as 1 (800) HARASS3.⁠^[21] The State's FAQ for workers gives 844-NYS-DHR1 (844-697-3471) as the Division of Human Rights number for the same information and attorney referral.⁠^[22]
• The EEOC. The federal agency says information from people who contact it is confidential and will not be revealed to the employer until the person files a charge of discrimination; once a charge is filed, the person's name and basic information about the allegations are disclosed to the employer.⁠^[23]
• A victim-services hotline. The NYS Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline is 800-942-6906 (text 844-997-2121), and the State says all conversations are confidential and available 24/7.⁠^[24]

Deciding to wait has a cost that confidentiality does not change: the State model policy warns that an internal complaint does not extend the time to file with the Division of Human Rights or in court.⁠^[21] See New York employment claim deadlines.

Can my employer make me keep quiet afterward?

New York State limits confidentiality terms written into agreements. Under General Obligations Law § 5-336, an employer may not include in a settlement of a discrimination, harassment or retaliation claim a term preventing disclosure of the underlying facts and circumstances unless confidentiality is the complainant's preference.⁠^[25] Any such term is void to the extent it restricts the complainant from taking part in an investigation by a local, state or federal agency.⁠^[26] A provision in an employment contract entered into on or after January 1, 2020, that prevents disclosure of factual information about a future discrimination claim is void unless it states that it does not prohibit speaking with law enforcement, the EEOC, the Division of Human Rights, the Attorney General, a local commission on human rights, or the employee's attorney.⁠^[27] Non-disclosure agreements in New York has the details.

What people get wrong

• "HR is like a lawyer or a counselor." The confidentiality duty described above for lawyers comes from a court rule that governs lawyers.⁠^[5] The State model policy's commitment for an internal investigation is the qualified one: confidential to the extent possible.⁠^[1]
• "If I say it's off the record, my manager can sit on it." Under the State model policy, a supervisor or manager who learns of suspected harassment must report it.⁠^[2]
• "Confidential means the accused won't know." The model policy has the employer interview all parties.⁠^[1]
• "If it isn't confidential, I'm unprotected." Under federal law, Title VII protects an employee who speaks about discrimination while answering questions in the employer's internal investigation.⁠^[28]