Bill Text: NY A04300 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes unpaid leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation under the state's human rights law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to governmental operations [A04300 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04300-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4300

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 14, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the executive  law,  in  relation  to  unpaid  leave  of
          absence  as  a reasonable accommodation under the state's human rights
          law

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  21-e of section 292 of the executive law, as
     2  amended by chapter 369 of the laws  of  2015,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    21-e.  (a)  The  term  "reasonable  accommodation" means actions taken
     5  which permit an employee, prospective employee or member with a disabil-
     6  ity, or a pregnancy-related condition, to perform in a reasonable manner
     7  the activities involved in the job or  occupation  sought  or  held  and
     8  include,  but  are  not limited to, provision of an accessible worksite,
     9  acquisition or modification of equipment, support services  for  persons
    10  with  impaired  hearing  or  vision, job restructuring and modified work
    11  schedules; provided, however, that such actions do not impose  an  undue
    12  hardship on the business, program or enterprise of the entity from which
    13  action is requested.
    14    (b)  The  term  "reasonable  accommodation"  shall also mean an unpaid
    15  leave of absence to allow  an  employee  to  recover  from  an  episodic
    16  manifestation  of  a disability, provided that the employee provides the
    17  employer with medical  certification  that  such  leave  of  absence  is
    18  medically  necessary  for  that  purpose and advises the employer of the
    19  approximate date the employee will be able to return to work. An indefi-
    20  nite leave of absence is not permissible under this subdivision.
    21    (c) To determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation, it  may  be
    22  necessary  for  the  covered entity to initiate an informal, interactive
    23  process with the individual with a disability in need  of  accommodation
    24  aimed at defining the employee's precise needs and minimizing any impact

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05940-01-3
        A. 4300                             2

     1  of the accommodation on the employee's work. This process should identi-
     2  fy  the  precise limitations resulting from the disability and potential
     3  reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations, includ-
     4  ing  the length of any leave of absence provided for in paragraph (b) of
     5  this subdivision. As part of the interactive  process,  consistent  with
     6  the  purpose  of  the  interactive  process, and to facilitate agreement
     7  between the employer and the employee  as  to  the  reasonable  accommo-
     8  dation,  the  employer  may request (1) to have the employee's physician
     9  respond in a reasonable time to a reasonable  number  of  non-burdensome
    10  questions concerning the employee's medical condition or (2) be examined
    11  by a medical doctor of the employer's choosing.
    12    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.