Bill Text: NY S08604 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to employee petitions to participate in a shared work program and to employer responses to such petitions; requires such petitions to be submitted to the commissioner of labor and to be made available for public access on the department of labor website.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-21 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S08604 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08604-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8604

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 21, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in  relation  to  employee  petitions  to
          participate  in  a  shared work program and employer responses to such
          petitions

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

     1    Section  1. Section 605-a of the labor law, as added by chapter 493 of
     2  the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 605-a. Shared work program.  1.  Any  group  of  employees  who  may
     4  reasonably be expected to experience an employment loss as a consequence
     5  of  a  reduction  in  workforce or have experienced employment loss as a
     6  consequence of a reduction in workforce  may  petition  in  writing  the
     7  employer  of such group of employees to apply to participate in a shared
     8  work program pursuant to this article  for  purposes  of  avoiding  such
     9  reduction  in workforce or for purposes of re-hiring any former employee
    10  or employees of the employer that were laid off due to  a  reduction  in
    11  workforce.  Such  employer  shall,  no  later than seven days after such
    12  petition has been made, respond in writing to such group  of  employees.
    13  Such  response  shall state the decision of the employer to apply or not
    14  to apply to participate in a shared work program,  and  the  reason  for
    15  deciding  to  apply  or  not  to  apply  to participate in a shared work
    16  program, and if the employer did apply, the outcome of the  application,
    17  if  available.    Such employer shall submit a copy of both the petition
    18  submitted by the employees and the employer's response to such  petition
    19  to the commissioner.
    20    2.  No  employer or their agent, or person acting as or on behalf of a
    21  hiring entity, or the officer or agent of any corporation,  partnership,
    22  or  limited liability company, shall discriminate, retaliate against, or
    23  take adverse action against  any  employee  for  exercising  the  rights
    24  afforded to them under this section.
    25    3. The commissioner shall make the employee's petition and the employ-
    26  er's  response  to  such  petition  available  for  public access on the
    27  website of the department.
    28    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13282-01-3