Bill Text: NY A02485 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishes restrictions on consumer and employment contracts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - ordered to third reading cal.199 [A02485 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A02485-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2485--A
                                                                Cal. No. 190
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. SIMOTAS, STECK -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Judiciary -- reported from committee, advanced to a third
          reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining  its  place  on  the
          order of third reading
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  general  obligations  law,  in  relation to the
          provisions of consumer and employment contracts
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  general  obligations  law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 5-303 to read as follows:
     3    § 5-303. Consumer and employment contracts. 1. Findings.  Obscure  and
     4  overly  complex language in consumer and employment contracts interferes
     5  with employees' and consumers' ability to provide meaningful  assent  to
     6  their  consumer and employment contracts. To ensure that private parties
     7  comprehend the material terms of the consumer and  employment  contracts
     8  into  which they enter, this section requires that merchants and employ-
     9  ers in designated forms  of  contracts  adequately  disclose  terms  and
    10  conditions.
    11    2. Non-conforming coverage.  This section shall apply to the contracts
    12  designated  in  subdivision  one  of  this  section that meet any of the
    13  following criteria:
    14    (a) an employment or consumer contract not written in plain  language,
    15  pursuant to section 5-702 of this article, that a reasonable consumer or
    16  employee would understand; or
    17    (b) if a consumer contract, all of the material terms are not found in
    18  a single document.
    19    3.  Covered  contracts.  The provisions of this section shall apply to
    20  the following types of contracts:
    21    (a) consumer contracts; and
    22    (b) employment contracts.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04561-02-7
        A. 2485--A                          2
     1    4. Rights when a covered contract is  non-conforming.  A  consumer  or
     2  employee  may  seek a court order reforming any contract covered by this
     3  section. Such reformed agreement shall reflect the understanding of  the
     4  parties, and the court may exclude terms not written in plain English or
     5  found in a separate document.
     6    5. Pre-existing rules. The provisions of this section shall be applied
     7  in  conjunction  with  pre-existing  rules regarding contract formation,
     8  including rules regarding reasonable notice, and the conduct a  consumer
     9  or  employee  must  manifest  in  order to assent to an agreement.   The
    10  provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to agreements  negotiated
    11  with any labor union through collective bargaining.
    12    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    13  it shall have become a law.