February 27, 2026 — In private sector employment, when a new employee is hired or promoted, they receive a letter announcing the specifics related to their appointment, including salary, benefits information, and more. While some of New York State’s civil servants may have received this type of “appointment letter,” many state employees never receive them or receive them late. That is because appointment letters were not mandatory, until now.
Late last year Governor Hochul signed a bill that PEF strongly advocated for that will ensure all newly hired and promoted employees receive appointment letters by December 2027.
The new law brings much needed transparency to the hiring process, says PEF Director of Civil Service Enforcement and Research (CSE/R) Veronica Foley.
“We always want to ensure that we continue our advocacy for solutions that empower prospective and existing civil servants to find meaningful work that can sustain families,” said Foley. “This law is a start.”
She said that CSE/R often speaks to members who have valid questions regarding their rights and status within the Civil Service system, but when pressed for details to aid in an investigation, they do not have them. CSE/R has worked with members who have not known whether they are permanent, provisional, or temporary upon appointment. In addition to listing the position type, appointment letters will include the jurisdictional class of the position, the appointment type, starting wages, probationary periods, employee benefits and the bargaining unit of the title.
Foley said this type of communication means that the state’s Department of Civil Service (DCS) is one step closer to modernization, which is a goal of both PEF and DCS.
PEF members who do not know their position type, the jurisdictional class of their position or want to know more about benefits like retirement, deferred compensation or representation rights, should ask for the information from their local human resources department either upon a new appointment or now.