Bill Text: NY A00584 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the prohibition of discrimination based on an individual's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 61-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-11-08 - SIGNED CHAP.457 [A00584 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00584-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
            S. 660                                                    A. 584
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                SENATE - ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by Sens. METZGER, BAILEY, CARLUCCI, HOYLMAN,
          KRUEGER, MAYER, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, RIVERA, SANDERS, SAVINO,  SERRANO,
          STAVISKY  --  read  twice  and ordered printed, and when printed to be
          committed to the Committee on Labor
        IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE, HEASTIE,  DINOWITZ,  COOK,
          GALEF,  GOTTFRIED,  CAHILL,  FAHY, TITUS, MOSLEY, ZEBROWSKI, PICHARDO,
          SIMON, STECK, SIMOTAS, ARROYO,  JOYNER,  AUBRY,  SEAWRIGHT,  ABINANTI,
          PAULIN,   L. ROSENTHAL,   HUNTER,   BICHOTTE,   JEAN-PIERRE,  HYNDMAN,
          DE LA ROSA, BLAKE, D'URSO, CARROLL, BRONSON, OTIS, BURKE, CRUZ,  FALL,
          FRONTUS,  GRIFFIN,  JACOBSON, McMAHON, RAYNOR, ROMEO, REYES, SAYEGH --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BARRON, BRAUNSTEIN,  BUCHWALD,  DAVILA,
          GLICK, LIFTON, LUPARDO, PERRY, RIVERA -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Labor
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to discrimination based on an
          employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section  203-e  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  203-e.  Prohibition  of  discrimination based on an employee's or a
     4  dependent's reproductive health decision making. 1. An employer shall be
     5  prohibited from accessing an employee's personal  information  regarding
     6  the  employee's  or the employee's dependent's reproductive health deci-
     7  sion making, including but not limited to, the decision to use or access
     8  a particular drug, device or  medical  service  without  the  employee's
     9  prior informed affirmative written consent.
    10    2. An employer shall not:
    11    (a)  discriminate nor take any retaliatory personnel action against an
    12  employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or  privileges
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02778-01-9
        S. 660                              2                             A. 584
     1  of  employment  because  of  or on the basis of the employee's or depen-
     2  dent's reproductive health decision making, including, but  not  limited
     3  to,  a  decision  to  use or access a particular drug, device or medical
     4  service; or
     5    (b)  require  an  employee  to  sign  a waiver or other document which
     6  purports to deny an employee the right to make  their  own  reproductive
     7  health  care  decisions,  including use of a particular drug, device, or
     8  medical service.
     9    3. An employer that provides an employee  handbook  to  its  employees
    10  must  include  in  the  handbook  notice of employee rights and remedies
    11  under this section.
    12    4. An employee may bring a civil action  in  any  court  of  competent
    13  jurisdiction against an employer alleged to have violated the provisions
    14  of  this  section.  In  any  civil  action  alleging a violation of this
    15  section, the court may:
    16    (a) award damages, including, but not limited to, back  pay,  benefits
    17  and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred to a prevailing plain-
    18  tiff;
    19    (b)  afford  injunctive  relief  against  any employer that commits or
    20  proposes to commit a violation of the provisions of this section;
    21    (c) order reinstatement; and/or
    22    (d) award liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of the award
    23  for damages pursuant to paragraph (a)  of  this  subdivision  unless  an
    24  employer  proves  a  good  faith  basis  to  believe that its actions in
    25  violation of this section were in compliance with the law.
    26    5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any  rights  of
    27  an  employee  provided through any other provision of law, common law or
    28  collective bargaining unit.
    29    6. Any act of retaliation for an employee exercising any rights grant-
    30  ed under this section shall subject an employer to separate civil penal-
    31  ties under this section. For the purposes of this  section,  retaliation
    32  or  retaliatory  personnel  action  shall  mean discharging, suspending,
    33  demoting, or otherwise penalizing an employee for:
    34    (a) making or  threatening  to  make,  a  complaint  to  an  employer,
    35  co-worker,  or  to  a  public  body,  that  rights guaranteed under this
    36  section have been violated;
    37    (b) causing to be instituted any proceeding under or related  to  this
    38  section; or
    39    (c)  providing  information  to, or testifying before, any public body
    40  conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any such violation
    41  of a law, rule, or regulation by such employer.
    42    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.