Bill Text: NY A00849 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Prohibits settlement agreements in any claim involving sexual harassment or any other form of discrimination prohibited by law from containing any condition that requires the complainant to pay the defendant liquidated damages in the event that the plaintiff violates any nondisclosure agreement included in such settlement agreement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-15 - print number 849d [A00849 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00849-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         849--B

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SIMOTAS, QUART, PAULIN, SEAWRIGHT, M. G. MILLER,
          LENTOL, GOTTFRIED, CRUZ, THIELE, STIRPE, SIMON, ZEBROWSKI, CYMBROWITZ,
          STERN, GLICK, FERNANDEZ, MAGNARELLI, MOSLEY,  LUPARDO,  BLAKE,  GALEF,
          EPSTEIN,  MONTESANO,  CRESPO,  NIOU  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Judiciary -- committee discharged, bill amended,  ordered
          reprinted  as  amended  and  recommitted  to  said  committee -- again
          reported from said committee with  amendments,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to independent
          consideration required for certain provisions in settlement agreements
          and violations  of  nondisclosure  agreements  in  certain  settlement
          agreements

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general obligations law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 5-1117 to read as follows:
     3    §  5-1117.  Independent  consideration  required for settlement agree-
     4  ments. Independent consideration shall be required  for  each  confiden-
     5  tiality  provision  included in a settlement agreement. For the purposes
     6  of this section, "independent consideration"  shall  mean  something  of
     7  value, either a promise, an act or an object that is offered in exchange
     8  for each confidentiality provision.
     9    § 2. Section 5-336 of the general obligations law, as added by section
    10  1  of subpart D of part KK of chapter 57 of the laws of 2018, is amended
    11  to read as follows:
    12    § 5-336. Nondisclosure agreements. (a) Notwithstanding any  other  law
    13  to  the  contrary, no employer, its officers or employees shall have the
    14  authority to include or agree to include in any settlement, agreement or
    15  other resolution of any claim, the factual foundation for which involves
    16  sexual harassment, any term or condition that would prevent the  disclo-
    17  sure  of  the  underlying facts and circumstances to the claim or action

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01543-05-9

        A. 849--B                           2

     1  unless the condition of confidentiality is the complainant's preference.
     2  Any such term or condition must be provided  to  all  parties,  and  the
     3  complainant  shall  have twenty-one days to consider such term or condi-
     4  tion.   If   after  twenty-one  days  such  term  or  condition  is  the
     5  complainant's preference, such preference shall be  memorialized  in  an
     6  agreement  signed  by  all  parties. For a period of at least seven days
     7  following the execution of such agreement, the  complainant  may  revoke
     8  the  agreement,  and  the  agreement  shall  not  become effective or be
     9  enforceable until such revocation period has expired.
    10    (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the  contrary,  no  person  shall
    11  have  the  authority  to  include or agree to include in any settlement,
    12  agreement or other resolution of any claim, the factual  foundation  for
    13  which  involves  sexual  harassment  or any other form of discrimination
    14  prohibited by law, any term or condition that requires  the  complainant
    15  to  pay the defendant liquidated damages in the event that the complain-
    16  ant violates a nondisclosure  agreement  included  in  such  settlement,
    17  agreement, or other resolution of a claim.
    18    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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