Bill Text: NY A03871 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires prior written notice upon hiring and once annually to all employees, informing them of the types of electronic monitoring which may occur; when an employer has reasonable grounds to believe that employees are engaged in conduct which (1) violates the law, (2) violates the legal rights of the employer or the employer's employees, or (3) creates a hostile workplace environment, and electronic monitoring may produce evidence of this misconduct, the employer may conduct monitoring without giving prior written notice.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-07-01 - 3RD READING CAL.417 [A03871 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A03871-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 3871--B Cal. No. 293 2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y January 28, 2009 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, MAISEL, JAFFEE, ZEBROWSKI, REILLY, GOTTFRIED, CAHILL, JOHN, KELLNER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GALEF, HEASTIE, KOON, PHEFFER, SCHIMEL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported from committee, advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to electronic monitor- ing THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 2 52-a to read as follows: 3 S 52-A. EMPLOYERS ENGAGED IN ELECTRONIC MONITORING; PRIOR NOTICE 4 REQUIRED. 1. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, EMPLOYER MEANS ANY INDIVID- 5 UAL, CORPORATION, PARTNERSHIP, FIRM, OR ASSOCIATION WITH A PLACE OF 6 BUSINESS IN THE STATE. IT SHALL NOT INCLUDE THE STATE OR ANY POLITICAL 7 SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE. 8 2. (A) ANY EMPLOYER WHO MONITORS OR OTHERWISE INTERCEPTS TELEPHONE 9 CONVERSATIONS OR TRANSMISSIONS, ELECTRONIC MAIL OR TRANSMISSIONS, OR 10 INTERNET ACCESS OR USAGE OF OR BY AN EMPLOYEE BY ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE 11 OR SYSTEM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE USE OF A COMPUTER, TELE- 12 PHONE, WIRE, RADIO, OR ELECTROMAGNETIC, PHOTOELECTRONIC OR PHOTO-OPTICAL 13 SYSTEMS, SHALL GIVE PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE UPON HIRING TO ALL EMPLOYEES 14 WHO ARE SUBJECT TO ELECTRONIC MONITORING. THE NOTICE REQUIRED BY THIS 15 SUBDIVISION SHALL BE IN WRITING, IN AN ELECTRONIC RECORD, OR IN ANOTHER 16 ELECTRONIC FORM AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE EMPLOYEE EITHER IN WRITING OR 17 ELECTRONICALLY. EACH EMPLOYER SHALL ALSO POST THE NOTICE OF ELECTRONIC 18 MONITORING IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE WHICH IS READILY AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING 19 BY ITS EMPLOYEES. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06630-07-0 A. 3871--B 2 1 (B) FOR PURPOSES OF WRITTEN NOTICE REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS 2 SUBDIVISION, AN EMPLOYEE SHALL BE ADVISED THAT ANY AND ALL TELEPHONE 3 CONVERSATIONS OR TRANSMISSIONS, ELECTRONIC MAIL OR TRANSMISSIONS, OR 4 INTERNET ACCESS OR USAGE OF BY AN EMPLOYEE BY ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR 5 SYSTEM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE USE OF A COMPUTER, TELEPHONE, 6 WIRE, RADIO OR ELECTROMAGNETIC, PHOTOELECTRONIC OR PHOTO-OPTICAL SYSTEMS 7 MAY BE SUBJECT TO MONITORING AT ANY AND ALL TIMES AND BY ANY LAWFUL 8 MEANS. 9 3. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION. 10 ANY EMPLOYER FOUND TO BE IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBJECT 11 TO A MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTY OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST 12 OFFENSE, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE SECOND OFFENSE AND THREE THOUSAND 13 DOLLARS FOR THE THIRD AND EACH SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE. 14 4. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO PROCESSES THAT 15 ARE DESIGNED TO MANAGE THE TYPE OR VOLUME OF INCOMING OR OUTGOING ELEC- 16 TRONIC MAIL OR TELEPHONE VOICE MAIL OR INTERNET USAGE, THAT ARE NOT 17 TARGETED TO MONITOR OR INTERCEPT THE ELECTRONIC MAIL OR TELEPHONE VOICE 18 MAIL OR INTERNET USAGE OF A PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL, AND THAT ARE 19 PERFORMED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF COMPUTER SYSTEM MAINTENANCE AND/OR 20 PROTECTION. 21 S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 22 it shall have become a law.