Bill Text: NY A00859 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Assembly Bill 859 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Bans the sale of employment data reports without written consumer consent; provides such employment data reports shall include, but not be limited to, payroll and earnings information, hours worked, consumer history and health insurance information.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-5)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-30 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [A00859 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A00859-Introduced.html

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           859
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     January 9, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, ABINANTI, GUNTHER, MOSLEY, GOTTFRIED,
          WEPRIN,  MONTESANO,  ROSENTHAL,  COLTON,  JAFFEE,  CAHILL,  O'DONNELL,
          PEOPLES-STOKES, STECK, RAIA, PERRY, HOOPER,  MOYA,  SKOUFIS,  SIMOTAS,
          OTIS, RODRIGUEZ, BLAKE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, COOK,
          CROUCH, GALEF, GLICK, McDONOUGH, SIMANOWITZ, STEC, TITONE -- read once
          and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
        AN  ACT  to  amend the general business law, in relation to the sale and
          use of employment information
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.   Section 380-v of the general business law, as relettered
     2  by chapter 441 of the laws of 2014, is relettered section  380-w  and  a
     3  new section 380-v is added to read as follows:
     4    §  380-v.  Sale  and  use of employment information.   (a) No consumer
     5  reporting agency or any subsidiary thereof  shall  sell  or  resell,  or
     6  offer  for  sale  or  resale or distribute employment information to any
     7  principal creditor, as that term is  defined  in  subdivision  three  of
     8  section  six  hundred  of  this chapter, or other debt collector without
     9  verifying that such sale, resale, or distribution was disclosed  to  the
    10  consumer  to  whom  such  employment  information pertains in a separate
    11  stand-alone document.  Employment information shall include, but not  be
    12  limited  to,  payroll  and  earnings information, hours worked, consumer
    13  history and health insurance information.
    14    (b) Such disclosure and consumer consent shall be given in a separate,
    15  stand-alone document and consent shall be limited to the particular  use
    16  or transaction for which consent is given.
    17    (c)  Wherever  there shall be a violation of this section, an applica-
    18  tion may be made by the attorney general in the name of  the  people  of
    19  the  state  of  New  York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a
    20  special proceeding to issue  an  injunction,  and  upon  notice  to  the
    21  defendant  of not less than five days, to enjoin or restrain the contin-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01691-01-7

        A. 859                              2
     1  uance of such violation; and if it shall appear to the  satisfaction  of
     2  the  court  or  justice  that  the defendant has, in fact, violated this
     3  section, an injunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining
     4  and  restraining any further violation, without requiring proof that any
     5  person has, in fact, been  injured  or  damaged  thereby.  In  any  such
     6  proceeding,  the  court  may  make allowances to the attorney general as
     7  provided in paragraph six of subdivision  (a)  of  section  eighty-three
     8  hundred  three  of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu-
     9  tion. Whenever the court  shall  determine  that  a  violation  of  this
    10  section  has  occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more
    11  than two thousand dollars for each violation.  In  connection  with  any
    12  such  proposed  application,  the attorney general is authorized to take
    13  proof and make a determination  of  the  relevant  facts  and  to  issue
    14  subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
    15    (d) In addition to any right of action granted to the attorney general
    16  pursuant  to  this section, any person who has been injured by reason of
    17  any violation of this section may bring an action in his or her own name
    18  to enjoin such unlawful act or practice, an action to recover his or her
    19  actual damages and one thousand dollars, or both such actions. The court
    20  may, in its discretion, award the prevailing plaintiff in such action an
    21  additional award not to exceed five thousand dollars, if the court finds
    22  the defendant willfully violated the provisions  of  this  section.  The
    23  court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    25  it shall have become a law.