Bill Text: NY A00297 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes unpaid leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation under the state's human rights law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to governmental operations [A00297 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00297-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           297
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. STECK, GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental Operations
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  executive  law,  in relation to unpaid leave of
          absence as a reasonable accommodation under the state's  human  rights
          law
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 21-e of section 292 of the  executive  law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  369  of  the  laws  of 2015, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    21-e. (a) The term  "reasonable  accommodation"  means  actions  taken
     5  which permit an employee, prospective employee or member with a disabil-
     6  ity, or a pregnancy-related condition, to perform in a reasonable manner
     7  the  activities  involved  in  the  job or occupation sought or held and
     8  include, but are not limited to, provision of  an  accessible  worksite,
     9  acquisition  or  modification of equipment, support services for persons
    10  with impaired hearing or vision, job  restructuring  and  modified  work
    11  schedules;  provided,  however, that such actions do not impose an undue
    12  hardship on the business, program or enterprise of the entity from which
    13  action is requested.
    14    (b) The term "reasonable accommodation"  shall  also  mean  an  unpaid
    15  leave  of  absence  to  allow  an  employee  to recover from an episodic
    16  manifestation of a disability, provided that the employee  provides  the
    17  employer  with  medical  certification  that  such  leave  of absence is
    18  medically necessary for that purpose and advises  the  employer  of  the
    19  approximate date the employee will be able to return to work. An indefi-
    20  nite leave of absence is not permissible under this subdivision.
    21    (c)  To  determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation, it may be
    22  necessary for the covered entity to initiate  an  informal,  interactive
    23  process  with  the individual with a disability in need of accommodation
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03523-01-9
        A. 297                              2
     1  aimed at defining the employee's precise needs and minimizing any impact
     2  of the accommodation on the employee's work. This process should identi-
     3  fy the precise limitations resulting from the disability  and  potential
     4  reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations, includ-
     5  ing  the length of any leave of absence provided for in paragraph (b) of
     6  this subdivision. As part of the interactive  process,  consistent  with
     7  the  purpose  of  the  interactive  process, and to facilitate agreement
     8  between the employer and the employee  as  to  the  reasonable  accommo-
     9  dation,  the  employer  may request (1) to have the employee's physician
    10  respond in a reasonable time to a reasonable  number  of  non-burdensome
    11  questions concerning the employee's medical condition or (2) be examined
    12  by a medical doctor of the employer's choosing.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.