Bill Text: NY A09963 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Increases protection against retaliation for public employees who fail to perform a duty when such action is deemed improper by any group, person, body, organization, legislative representative or social networking platform and provides for an affirmative defense.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-03 - referred to governmental employees [A09963 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A09963-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9963

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 3, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. CUSICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Employees

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  civil  service  law,  in relation to increasing
          protection against retaliation for public employees  and  provides  an
          affirmative defense

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 75-b of the civil service  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph (b) to read as follows:
     3    (b)  A public employer shall not dismiss or take other disciplinary or
     4  other adverse personnel action against a public employee  regarding  the
     5  employee's  employment because the employee fails to perform a duty when
     6  such action is deemed improper by any group, person, body, organization,
     7  legislative representative or social networking platform.
     8    § 2. Section 75-b of the civil service law is amended by adding a  new
     9  subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
    10    3-a.  It  shall be an affirmative defense in any disciplinary or other
    11  adverse personnel action against a public employee regarding the employ-
    12  ee's employment because the employee failed to  perform  a  duty  and/or
    13  action  as prescribed under federal, state or local law or regulation if
    14  the employee reasonably believed that such duty and/or action may invoke
    15  community unrest, public  scorn  or  societal  backlash  by  any  group,
    16  person,   body,   organization,  legislative  representative  or  social
    17  networking platform.
    18    § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    19  have become a law.



         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14211-02-9
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