NELA/NY'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

NELA/NY’s 2024 Legislative Agenda is robust and ambitious, including both NYS and NYC proposed legislation.  We work with like-minded organizations to advance protections for New York workers.
 
NELA /NY Legislative Agenda 2024:
 

1. Wage Payment Integrity Act -- S4973 / A5348 (Gounardes / Simon):
   • Summary: Amends provisions of the NYLL relating to payment of wages to include compensation that is not payable solely at the employer's discretion; requires certain notices; expands enforcement provisions.
   • Text of bill and legislative status.
   • NELA /NY’s Memorandum of Support (MOS)

 

2. Banning Do Not Darken My Door Clauses in Employment Discrimination Settlement Agreements -- S14 / A306 (Gounardes / Cruz).
   • Summary: Makes the release of any claim by an employee, or independent contractor who is a natural person, against an employer, unenforceable if, as a condition of such resolution, the employee or independent contractor is prohibited from applying for, accepting, or engaging in future employment with such employer, or any entity or entities related to such employer.
   • Text of bill and legislative status.
   • NELA NY’s Memorandum of Support (MOS)

 

3. Banning Retaliatory Defamation Suits against Employment Discrimination Survivors -- S4549 / A1676 (Gounardes / Simon)
   • Summary: Prohibits a cause of action for defamation where the subject of such action includes an allegation made to an employer regarding an unlawful discriminatory practice or act of retaliation.
   • Text of bill and legislative status

 

4. Protecting Employment Discrimination Jury Verdicts -- S17 / A2865 (Gounardes / Seawright)
   • Summary: Provides that the court shall not reduce jury awards as excessive in employment discrimination actions unless the court finds exceptional circumstances which compel the conclusion that the jury was influenced by partiality, prejudice, mistake or corruption.
   • Text of bill and legislative status
   • Video summary
   • NELA NY’s Memorandum of Support (MOS).
   • Article on the bill: NY lawmakers look to limit judges cutting jury awards after employer bias suits

 

5. Clarifying Standard for Proving Employment Discrimination -- S4467B / A1396 (Mayer / Bichotte-Hermalyn)
   • Summary: Clarifies the standard for disparate treatment claims by defining the terms "because of", "because", "by reason of", and "motivating factor" for the purposes of disparate treatment cases.
   • NELA NY’s Memorandum of Support (MOS)
   • Text of bill and legislative status

 

6. Clarifying 21 Day Review Period for Employment Discrimination Settlements S8802 (Fernandez)
   • Summary: Clarifies that survivors of employment discrimination who settle claims have up to 21 days to review confidentiality provisions
   • Text of bill and legislative status

 

7. Labor Law Enforcement Parity Act - S8852 / A9800 (Ramos / Bronson)
   • Summary: Clarifies that the liquidated and statutory damages available for certain wage violations are not punitive in nature and are designed to compensate workers
   • Text of bills and legislative status: S8852, A9800
   • NELA-NY Memorandum in Support (MOS)

 

8. Protecting Statutes of Limitations under NYC HRL - Int. 0069 (Restler)

• Summary: Provides that any provision of any agreement purporting to shorten the time in which a discrimination complaint or claim may be filed is unenforceable and void as against public policy.
• Text of bill and legislative status
• Related article: NYC Council eyes ban on agreements restricting workplace discrimination claim

 

9. Reasonable Accommodation Anti-retaliation Act - S8888 / A10002 (Gounardes / Wallace)
   • Summary: Relates to prohibiting retaliation against individuals who request a reasonable accommodation.
   • Text of bills and legislative status: S8888, A10002
   • NELA-NY Memorandum in Support (MOS)

COALITION BILLS:
 
NELA/NY is proud to actively participate in coalitions in support of the following bills.
 

1. Wage Theft Attachment Act -- S7539 / A7752 (Ramos / Rosenthal)
   • Summary: Provides grounds for attachment; relates to procedures where employees may hold shareholders of non-publicly traded corporations personally liable for wage theft; relates to rights for victims of wage theft to hold the ten members with the largest ownership interests in a company personally liable for wage theft; relates to penalties for certain wage violations.
   • Text of bill and legislative status

 

2. SWEAT -- S1977A / A46A (Ramos / Rosenthal)
   • Summary: Relates to securing payment of wages for work already performed; creates a lien remedy for all employees; provides grounds for attachment; relates to procedures where employees may hold shareholders of non-publicly traded corporations personally liable for wage theft.
   • Text of bill and legislative status
   • Video summary

 

3. Personnel File Disclosure -- S99 / A1959 (Gounardes / Gonzalez-Rojas)
   • Summary: Grants employees access to personnel records; requires notice of negative information in such records and an opportunity for a review; permits employee to include certain information in personnel records
   • Text of bill and legislative status

 

4. Empowering People in Rights Enforcement (EmPIRE) Worker Protection Act -- S541B / A9012 (Hoylman-Sigal / Simon)
   • Summary: Expands the public enforcement capacity of the state in order to remedy wage theft and other violations of the New York Labor Law by authorizing an affected employee, whistleblower, representative organization or an organizational deputy to initiate a public enforcement action on behalf of the state for violations of the Labor Law’s wage theft, health & safety, and anti-retaliation protections
   • Text of bill and legislative status: S541B, A9012
   • NELA-NY Memorandum in Support (MOS)

 

5. Strengthening Labor Law bill package -- S8451 / A9033 (Ramos / Epstein), S8452/A9106 (Ramos / Burgos), S8453/A9079 (Ramos / Rosenthal)
   • Summaries:
     1. S8451: Provides that the commissioner of labor shall notify the chairman of the state liquor authority of certain violations of the labor law relating to wages and hours of labor; provides that the chairman of the state liquor authority shall suspend certain liquor licenses of such employers in violation of such provisions.
     2. S8452: Authorizes the commissioner of labor and the workers' compensation board to issue stop-work orders; establishes procedure for the issuance of such orders; establishes penalties for failure to comply with such orders.
     3. S8453: Provides that the commissioner of labor shall notify the commissioner of taxation and finance of certain violations of the labor law relating to wages and hours of labor; provides that the commissioner of taxation and finance shall suspend certain certificates of authority of such employers in violation of such provisions.
   • Text of bills and status: S8451, S8452, S8453.

 

6. Amending Leave Law - S2821B (Ramos)
   • Summary: Expands eligibility for temporary disability insurance and paid family leave benefits; makes conforming technical changes.
   • Text of bill and legislative status
   • Bill explainer: https://www.abetterbalance.org/resources/strengthening-and-updating-paid-family-and-medical-leave-s2821-a4053-bill-explainer/

 

7. Workers Rights Enforceability Act - S7925 (Hoylman) / A8462 (Dinowitz)
   • Summary: Prohibits the enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements clauses and joint-action waivers with respect to workplace disputes; clarifies that section 7515 of the civil practice laws and rules applies retroactively to nullify pre-existing illegal mandatory arbitration clauses.
   • Text of bills and status: S7925, A8462

 

8. Salary Transparency - Int 0808-2024  
   • Summary: This bill would clarify how employers determine the range of pay they would offer for a posted position. It would require that employers who offer pay outside of the originally posted range reissue the job advertisement. This legislation would also require that job listings provide a description of the available position, promotion or transfer opportunity along with the non-salary or wage compensation for the position. The compensation information required would include bonuses, benefits, stocks, bonds, options and equity or ownership, if any. This compensation information would also be provided to current employees for such employee’s job title, annually and upon request.
   • Text of bill and status

 

9. Restricting the use of electronic monitoring and automated employment decision tools - S7623A (Hoylman-Sigal)
   • Summary: Restricts the use by an employer or an employment agency of electronic monitoring or an automated employment decision tool to screen a candidate or employee for an employment decision unless such tool has been the subject of an impact assessment within the last year; requires notice to employment candidates of the use of such tools; provides remedies; makes a conforming change to the civil rights law.
   • Text of bill and status