Bill Text: NY A01322 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to crimes involving the death or serious physical injury of an employee; defines employee; updates the effectiveness of such provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-03 - signed chap.61 [A01322 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01322-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1322

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 17, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to crimes involving the death
          or serious physical injury of an employee; and to amend a  chapter  of
          the  laws  of 2022 amending the penal law relating to crimes involving
          the death or injury of a worker,  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills
          numbers  S.    621-B  and  A. 4947-B, in relation to the effectiveness
          thereof

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

     1    Section  1.  Section 10.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new
     2  subdivision 22 to read as follows:
     3    22. For the purposes of section 20.20 of this part and  section  60.27
     4  of  this  chapter,  the  term "employee" shall mean any person providing
     5  labor or services for remuneration for  a  private  entity  or  business
     6  within  New  York  state,  without regard to an individual's immigration
     7  status, and shall include part-time  workers,  independent  contractors,
     8  apprentices,  domestic workers, home care and personal care workers, day
     9  laborers, farmworkers, and other temporary and seasonal workers.
    10    § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 20.20 of the penal law,
    11  as amended by a chapter of the laws  of  2022  amending  the  penal  law
    12  relating  to  crimes  involving  the  death  or  injury  of a worker, as
    13  proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 621-B and A. 4947-B, is amended
    14  to read as follows:
    15    (c) The conduct constituting the offense is engaged in by an agent  of
    16  the corporation while acting within the scope of his employment and [in]
    17  on  behalf of the corporation, and the offense is (i) a misdemeanor or a
    18  violation, (ii) one defined by  a  statute  which  clearly  indicates  a
    19  legislative  intent  to impose such criminal liability on a corporation,
    20  (iii) any offense set forth in title twenty-seven of article seventy-one
    21  of the environmental conservation law, or (iv) is in relation to a crime

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04304-01-3
        A. 1322                             2

     1  involving the death or serious physical injury of [a worker] an employee
     2  where the corporation acted negligently, recklessly,  intentionally,  or
     3  knowingly.
     4    § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 60.27 of the penal law,
     5  as  added by a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the penal law relat-
     6  ing to crimes involving the death or injury of a worker, as proposed  in
     7  legislative  bills numbers S. 621-B and A. 4947-B, is amended to read as
     8  follows:
     9    (c) If a corporation is found guilty of an offense involving the death
    10  or serious physical injury of [a worker] an  employee  in  violation  of
    11  subparagraph  (iv) of paragraph [(a), (b), or] (c) of subdivision two of
    12  section 20.20 of this chapter, the court may order restitution or  repa-
    13  ration  in  excess of the amounts specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of
    14  this subdivision.
    15    § 4. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 1 of section 80.10  of  the
    16  penal  law,  as  amended  by  a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the
    17  penal law relating to crimes involving the death or injury of a  worker,
    18  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills numbers S. 621-B and A. 4947-B, are
    19  amended to read as follows:
    20    (a) Ten  thousand  dollars,  when  the  conviction  is  of  a  felony;
    21  provided,  however, that when the conviction is pursuant to subparagraph
    22  (iv) of paragraph [(a), (b), or] (c) of subdivision two of section 20.20
    23  of this chapter, such fine shall be fixed by the court and  shall  [not]
    24  be  [less] no more than five hundred thousand dollars [nor more than one
    25  million dollars];
    26    (b) Five thousand dollars, when the conviction is of a class A  misde-
    27  meanor  or  of an unclassified misdemeanor for which a term of imprison-
    28  ment in excess of three months is authorized;  provided,  however,  that
    29  when  the conviction is pursuant to subparagraph (iv) of paragraph [(a),
    30  (b), or] (c) of subdivision two of section 20.20 of this  chapter,  such
    31  fine  shall be fixed by the court and shall [not] be [less] no more than
    32  three hundred thousand dollars [nor  more  than  five  hundred  thousand
    33  dollars];
    34    § 5. Section 5 of a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the penal law
    35  relating  to  crimes  involving  the  death  or  injury  of a worker, as
    36  proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 621-B and A. 4947-B, is amended
    37  to read as follows:
    38    § 5. This act shall take effect on the [thirtieth] ninetieth day after
    39  it shall have become a law and shall apply to proceedings commencing  on
    40  or after such date.
    41    §  6.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    42  sections one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect  on  the
    43  same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amend-
    44  ing  the penal law relating to crimes involving the death or injury of a
    45  worker, as proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  621-B  and  A.
    46  4947-B, takes effect.