Bill Text: NY A00687 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that certain communications made without malice regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination shall be deemed privileged; provides that a prevailing defendant in an action brought against such defendant for making a communication that is privileged shall be entitled to attorney's fees and costs for such defense.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to governmental operations [A00687 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00687-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           687

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GLICK, SHIMSKY, DAVILA, RAGA,
          SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Oper-
          ations

        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to privileged communi-
          cations in defamation actions

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

     1    Section 1. Section 74 of the civil rights law, as added by chapter 310
     2  of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  74.  Privileges  in action for libel or defamation.  1. (a) A civil
     4  action cannot be maintained against any person, firm or corporation, for
     5  the publication of a fair and true report of  any  judicial  proceeding,
     6  legislative  proceeding or other official proceeding, or for any heading
     7  of the report which is  a  fair  and  true  headnote  of  the  statement
     8  published.
     9    (b)  This  [section  does]  subdivision  shall  not  apply  to a libel
    10  contained in any other matter added  by  any  person  concerned  in  the
    11  publication;  or  in the report of anything said or done at the time and
    12  place of such a proceeding which was not a part thereof.
    13    2. (a) A communication made by an individual, without malice,  regard-
    14  ing  an  incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination shall
    15  be deemed privileged.
    16    (b) A prevailing defendant in any defamation  action  brought  against
    17  such defendant for making a communication that is privileged under para-
    18  graph  (a)  of  this  subdivision  shall be entitled to their reasonable
    19  attorney's fees and costs for successfully defending themselves in  such
    20  litigation, plus treble damages for any harm caused to them by the defa-
    21  mation action against them, in addition to punitive damages available or
    22  any other relief otherwise permitted by law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02055-01-5
        A. 687                              2

     1    (c) This subdivision shall only apply to an individual that has, or at
     2  any  time had, a reasonable basis to file a complaint of sexual assault,
     3  harassment, or discrimination, whether the complaint is, or  was,  filed
     4  or not.
     5    (d) For the purposes of this subdivision, "communication" means factu-
     6  al  information related to an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or
     7  discrimination experienced by the individual making  the  communication,
     8  including, but not limited to, any of the following:
     9    (1) an act of sexual assault;
    10    (2) an act of sexual harassment;
    11    (3)  an  act  of  workplace  harassment  or discrimination, failure to
    12  prevent an act of workplace harassment or discrimination, aiding,  abet-
    13  ting,  inciting,  compelling, or coercing an act of workplace harassment
    14  or discrimination, or an act of retaliation against a person for report-
    15  ing or opposing workplace harassment or discrimination; or
    16    (4) an act of harassment or discrimination, or an act  of  retaliation
    17  against  a  person  for  reporting  harassment or discrimination, by the
    18  owner of a housing accommodation.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.