Bill Text: NY A02546 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to retaliatory personnel actions by employers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to labor [A02546 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A02546-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2546

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 19, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. WEINSTEIN, DINOWITZ, GLICK, CAHILL, TAYLOR, WOER-
          NER  -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. MAGNARELLI, NIOU, SIMON -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Labor

        AN ACT to amend the labor law,  in  relation  to  retaliatory  personnel
          actions by employers

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

     1    Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 740 of the labor
     2  law, as added by chapter 660 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read  as
     3  follows:
     4    (a) "Employee" means an individual who performs services for and under
     5  the control and direction of an employer for wages or other remuneration
     6  or natural persons employed as independent contractors to carry out work
     7  in  furtherance  of  an employer's business enterprise who are not them-
     8  selves employers.
     9    § 2. The opening paragraph and  paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  2  of
    10  section  740 of the labor law, the opening paragraph as added by chapter
    11  660 of the laws of 1984 and paragraph (a) as amended by chapter  442  of
    12  the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
    13    An employer shall not take any retaliatory personnel action against an
    14  employee,  whether or not within the scope of the employee's job duties,
    15  because such employee does any of the following:
    16    (a) discloses, or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public
    17  body an activity, policy or practice of the employer  [that]  which  the
    18  employee  reasonably believes is in violation of law, rule or regulation
    19  [which violation creates and presents] or which the employee  reasonably
    20  believes poses a substantial and specific danger to the public health or
    21  safety, or which constitutes health care fraud;
    22    §  3.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 740 of the labor law,
    23  as added by chapter 660 of the laws of  1984,  is  amended  to  read  as
    24  follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00031-01-1
        A. 2546                             2

     1    (c)  It  shall  be  a  defense  to any action brought pursuant to this
     2  section that the personnel action was predicated upon grounds other than
     3  the employee's exercise of any rights protected  by  this  section.  [It
     4  shall  also be a defense that the individual was an independent contrac-
     5  tor.]
     6    §  4.  Paragraphs  (b), (d) and (e) of subdivision 5 of section 740 of
     7  the labor law, as added by chapter 660 of the laws of 1984, are  amended
     8  to read as follows:
     9    (b) the reinstatement of the employee to the same position held before
    10  the retaliatory personnel action, or to an equivalent position, or front
    11  pay in lieu thereof;
    12    (d)  the compensation for lost wages, benefits and other remuneration;
    13  [and]
    14    (e) the payment by the employer of  reasonable  costs,  disbursements,
    15  and attorney's fees; and
    16    (f)  the payment by the employer of punitive damages, if the violation
    17  was willful, malicious or wanton.
    18    § 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    19  have  become  a  law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the
    20  addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule  or  regulation  necessary
    21  for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
    22  to be made by the commissioner of labor of the state of New York  on  or
    23  before such effective date.