Bill Text: NY A07170 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person's height or weight in opportunities of employment, housing, and access to public accommodations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-14 - print number 7170b [A07170 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A07170-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7170--B 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 11, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, WALLACE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Operations in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting discrimi- nation on the basis of a person's height or weight in opportunities of employment, housing, and access to public accommodations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (h) of subdivision 1 of 2 section 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 3 and 748 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 4 (a) For an employer or licensing agency, because of an individual's 5 age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 6 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 7 status, sex, height, weight, disability, predisposing genetic character- 8 istics, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domes- 9 tic violence, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from 10 employment such individual or to discriminate against such individual in 11 compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment. 12 (b) For an employment agency to discriminate against any individual 13 because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 14 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 15 military status, sex, height, weight, disability, predisposing genetic 16 characteristics, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim 17 of domestic violence, in receiving, classifying, disposing or otherwise 18 acting upon applications for its services or in referring an applicant 19 or applicants to an employer or employers. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06818-04-4A. 7170--B 2 1 (c) For a labor organization, because of the age, race, creed, color, 2 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 3 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, 4 disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, mari- 5 tal status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, of any individ- 6 ual, to exclude or to expel from its membership such individual or to 7 discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any 8 employer or any individual employed by an employer. 9 (d) For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or 10 cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publi- 11 cation, or to use any form of application for employment or to make any 12 inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses 13 directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination 14 as to age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 15 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 16 tary status, sex, height, weight, disability, predisposing genetic char- 17 acteristics, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of 18 domestic violence, or any intent to make any such limitation, specifica- 19 tion or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qual- 20 ification; provided, however, that neither this paragraph nor any 21 provision of this chapter or other law shall be construed to prohibit 22 the department of civil service or the department of personnel of any 23 city containing more than one county from requesting information from 24 applicants for civil service examinations concerning any of the afore- 25 mentioned characteristics, other than sexual orientation, for the 26 purpose of conducting studies to identify and resolve possible problems 27 in recruitment and testing of members of minority groups to ensure the 28 fairest possible and equal opportunities for employment in the civil 29 service for all persons, regardless of age, race, creed, color, national 30 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation or gender 31 identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, disabili- 32 ty, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, or marital 33 status. 34 (h) (1) For an employer, licensing agency, employment agency or labor 35 organization to subject any individual to harassment because of an indi- 36 vidual's age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 37 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 38 tary status, sex, height, weight, disability, predisposing genetic 39 characteristics, familial status, marital status, status as a victim of 40 domestic violence, or because the individual has opposed any practices 41 forbidden under this article or because the individual has filed a 42 complaint, testified or assisted in any proceeding under this article, 43 regardless of whether such harassment would be considered severe or 44 pervasive under precedent applied to harassment claims. Such harassment 45 is an unlawful discriminatory practice when it subjects an individual to 46 inferior terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the 47 individual's membership in one or more of these protected categories. 48 The fact that such individual did not make a complaint about the harass- 49 ment to such employer, licensing agency, employment agency or labor 50 organization shall not be determinative of whether such employer, 51 licensing agency, employment agency or labor organization shall be 52 liable. Nothing in this section shall imply that an employee must demon- 53 strate the existence of an individual to whom the employee's treatment 54 must be compared. It shall be an affirmative defense to liability under 55 this subdivision that the harassing conduct does not rise above the 56 level of what a reasonable victim of discrimination with the sameA. 7170--B 3 1 protected characteristic or characteristics would consider petty slights 2 or trivial inconveniences. 3 (2) The provisions of this subdivision relating to height and weight 4 shall not apply to an action by an employer, licensing agency, employ- 5 ment agency, or labor organization based on a person's height or weight 6 when such action is required by federal law or regulation. Nothing in 7 this subdivision shall be construed to prevent alternative actions 8 reasonably taken by an employer, licensing agency, employment agency, or 9 labor organization to allow persons who do not meet occupational height 10 or weight criteria to perform the essential requisites and/or normal 11 operations of a job. In instances where an employer, licensing agency, 12 employment agency, or labor organization's action is not required by law 13 or regulation as described in this paragraph, it shall be an affirmative 14 defense that an action was taken because there were no available alter- 15 native actions the entity could have taken that could have reasonably 16 allowed the person to perform the essential requisites and/or normal 17 operations of the job. 18 § 2. Paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision 1-a of section 296 of 19 the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the 20 laws of 2022, are amended and a new paragraph (e) is added to read as 21 follows: 22 (b) To deny to or withhold from any person because of race, creed, 23 color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orien- 24 tation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, 25 weight, age, disability, familial status, marital status, or status as a 26 victim of domestic violence, the right to be admitted to or participate 27 in a guidance program, an apprenticeship training program, on-the-job 28 training program, executive training program, or other occupational 29 training or retraining program; 30 (c) To discriminate against any person in [his or her] pursuit of such 31 programs or to discriminate against such a person in the terms, condi- 32 tions or privileges of such programs because of race, creed, color, 33 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 34 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, 35 age, disability, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim 36 of domestic violence; 37 (d) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 38 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 39 tion for such programs or to make any inquiry in connection with such 40 program which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, spec- 41 ification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, 42 citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity 43 or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, 44 familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic 45 violence, or any intention to make any such limitation, specification or 46 discrimination, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. 47 (e) The provisions of this subdivision relating to height and weight 48 shall not apply to an action by an employer, labor organization, employ- 49 ment agency or any joint labor-management committee controlling appren- 50 tice training programs based on a person's height or weight when such 51 action is required by federal law or regulation. Nothing in this subdi- 52 vision shall be construed to prevent alternative actions reasonably 53 taken by an employer, labor organization, employment agency or any joint 54 labor-management committee controlling apprentice training programs to 55 allow persons who do not meet programmatic height or weight criteria to 56 perform the essential requisites and/or normal operations of a guidanceA. 7170--B 4 1 program, an apprenticeship training program, on-the-job training 2 program, executive training program, or other occupational training 3 or retraining program. In instances where an employer, labor organiza- 4 tion, employment agency or any joint labor-management committee control- 5 ling apprentice training programs' action is not required by law or 6 regulation as described in this paragraph, it shall be an affirmative 7 defense that an action was taken because there were no available alter- 8 native actions the entity could have taken that could have reasonably 9 allowed the person to perform the essential requisites and/or normal 10 operations of the guidance program, apprenticeship training program, 11 on-the-job training program, executive training program, or other occu- 12 pational training or retraining program. 13 § 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 2 of section 296 of the 14 executive law, paragraph (a) as separately amended by chapters 202 and 15 748 of the laws of 2022 and paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 166 of 16 the laws of 2000, are amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to read 17 as follows: 18 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, 19 being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or 20 employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement, 21 because of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 22 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 23 tary status, sex, height, weight, disability, marital status, or status 24 as a victim of domestic violence, of any person, directly or indirectly, 25 to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommo- 26 dations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, including the 27 extension of credit, or, directly or indirectly, to publish, circulate, 28 issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, 29 notice or advertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, 30 advantages, facilities and privileges of any such place shall be 31 refused, withheld from or denied to any person on account of race, 32 creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual 33 orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, 34 height, weight, disability or marital status, or that the patronage or 35 custom thereat of any person of or purporting to be of any particular 36 race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, 37 sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex 38 or marital status, or having a disability is unwelcome, objectionable or 39 not acceptable, desired or solicited. 40 (b) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent the 41 barring of any person, because of the sex of such person, from places of 42 public accommodation, resort or amusement if the division grants an 43 exemption based on bona fide considerations of public policy; nor shall 44 this subdivision apply to the rental of rooms in a housing accommodation 45 which restricts such rental to individuals of one sex. Nothing in this 46 subdivision shall be construed to prevent the barring of any person, 47 because of height or weight of such person, from places of amusement for 48 purposes of compliance with any reasonable amusement industry safety 49 standards. 50 (f) The provisions of this subdivision relating to height and weight 51 shall not apply to an action by any person, being the owner, lessee, 52 proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of 53 public accommodation, resort or amusement, based on a person's height or 54 weight when such action is required by federal law or regulation, or 55 required by reasonable state safety law or regulation. Nothing in this 56 subdivision shall be construed to prevent alternative actions reasonablyA. 7170--B 5 1 taken by any person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, 2 superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommodation, 3 resort or amusement, to allow persons who do not meet height or weight 4 criteria necessary for the normal operations of a particular place or 5 provider of accommodation, or a category of such places or providers, to 6 use or enjoy the accommodations, advantages, services, facilities, or 7 privileges of the place or provider of public accommodation. In 8 instances where any person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manag- 9 er, superintendent, agent or employee of any place of public accommo- 10 dation, resort or amusement, action is not required by law or regulation 11 as described in this paragraph, it shall be an affirmative defense that 12 an action was taken because there were no available alternative actions 13 the entity could have taken that could have reasonably allowed the 14 person to use or enjoy the accommodations, advantages, services, facili- 15 ties, or privileges of the place or provider of public accommodation. 16 § 4. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (c-1) of subdivision 2-a of section 17 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 18 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 19 (a) To refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise to deny to or with- 20 hold from any person or group of persons such housing accommodations 21 because of the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizen- 22 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 23 expression, military status, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, 24 status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or 25 familial status of such person or persons, or to represent that any 26 housing accommodation or land is not available for inspection, sale, 27 rental or lease when in fact it is so available. 28 (b) To discriminate against any person because of [his or her] race, 29 creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or immigration 30 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 31 status, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, status as a victim of 32 domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial status in the 33 terms, conditions or privileges of any publicly-assisted housing accom- 34 modations or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection 35 therewith. 36 (c) To cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concern- 37 ing the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or 38 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 39 membership in the reserve armed forces of the United States or in the 40 organized militia of the state, age, sex, height, weight, marital 41 status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income 42 or familial status of a person seeking to rent or lease any publicly-as- 43 sisted housing accommodation; provided, however, that nothing in this 44 subdivision shall prohibit a member of the reserve armed forces of the 45 United States or in the organized militia of the state from voluntarily 46 disclosing such membership. 47 (c-1) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 48 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 49 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 50 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 51 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 52 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 53 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 54 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 55 military status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, marital status, 56 status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income orA. 7170--B 6 1 familial status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specifica- 2 tion or discrimination. 3 § 5. Subdivisions 3-b, 4 and 13 of section 296 of the executive law, 4 as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, are 5 amended to read as follows: 6 3-b. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real 7 estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof or 8 any other individual, corporation, partnership or organization for the 9 purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which any such person 10 or any of its stockholders or members may benefit financially, to repre- 11 sent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition 12 with respect to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 13 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 14 military status, sex, height, weight, disability, marital status, status 15 as a victim of domestic violence, or familial status of the owners or 16 occupants in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property 17 is located, and to represent, directly or indirectly, that this change 18 will or may result in undesirable consequences in the block, neighbor- 19 hood or area in which the real property is located, including but not 20 limited to the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or 21 anti-social behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or other 22 facilities. 23 4. (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an educa- 24 tional institution to deny the use of its facilities to any person 25 otherwise qualified, or to permit the harassment of any student or 26 applicant, by reason of [his] race, color, religion, disability, 27 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 28 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, 29 age, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, except 30 that any such institution which establishes or maintains a policy of 31 educating persons of one sex exclusively may admit students of only one 32 sex. 33 (b) The provisions of this subdivision relating to height and weight 34 shall not apply to an action by an educational institution based on a 35 person's height or weight when such action is required by federal law or 36 regulation. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent 37 alternative actions reasonably taken by an educational institution to 38 allow persons who do not meet height or weight criteria to participate 39 in educational institution programs, such as athletic programs or other 40 extracurricular programs. In instances where an educational facility's 41 action is not required by law or regulation as described in this para- 42 graph, it shall be an affirmative defense that an action was taken 43 because there were no available alternative actions the entity could 44 have taken that could have reasonably allowed the person to participate 45 in an educational institution's program. 46 13. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice (i) for any person 47 to boycott or blacklist, or to refuse to buy from, sell to or trade 48 with, or otherwise discriminate against any person, because of the race, 49 creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual 50 orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, 51 height, weight, status as a victim of domestic violence, disability, or 52 familial status, or of such person, or of such person's partners, 53 members, stockholders, directors, officers, managers, superintendents, 54 agents, employees, business associates, suppliers or customers, or (ii) 55 for any person wilfully to do any act or refrain from doing any actA. 7170--B 7 1 which enables any such person to take such action. This subdivision 2 shall not apply to: 3 (a) Boycotts connected with labor disputes; or 4 (b) Boycotts to protest unlawful discriminatory practices. 5 § 6. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision 5 of section 296 6 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of 7 the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 8 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, 9 lessee, sub-lessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or other person 10 having the right to sell, rent or lease a housing accommodation, 11 constructed or to be constructed, or any agent or employee thereof: 12 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise to deny to or withhold 13 from any person or group of persons such a housing accommodation because 14 of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 15 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 16 status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, marital status, status as 17 a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial 18 status of such person or persons, or to represent that any housing 19 accommodation or land is not available for inspection, sale, rental or 20 lease when in fact it is so available. 21 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, 22 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 23 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, 24 age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of domestic 25 violence, lawful source of income or familial status in the terms, 26 conditions or privileges of the sale, rental or lease of any such hous- 27 ing accommodation or in the furnishing of facilities or services in 28 connection therewith. 29 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 30 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 31 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 32 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 33 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 34 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 35 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 36 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 37 military status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, marital status, 38 status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or 39 familial status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specifica- 40 tion or discrimination. 41 (4) (i) The provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph 42 shall not apply (1) to the rental of a housing accommodation in a build- 43 ing which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families 44 living independently of each other, if the owner resides in one of such 45 housing accommodations, (2) to the restriction of the rental of all 46 rooms in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex or (3) 47 to the rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such 48 rental is by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner 49 of the housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing 50 accommodation or (4) solely with respect to age and familial status to 51 the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 52 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 53 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 54 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 55 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 56 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607A. 7170--B 8 1 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 2 apply. However, such rental property shall no longer be exempt from the 3 provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph if there is 4 unlawful discriminatory conduct pursuant to subparagraph three of this 5 paragraph. 6 (ii) The provisions of subparagraphs one, two, and three of this para- 7 graph shall not apply (1) to the restriction of the rental of all rooms 8 in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex, (2) to the 9 rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such rental is 10 by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner of the 11 housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing accommo- 12 dation, or (3) solely with respect to age and familial status to the 13 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 14 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 15 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 16 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 17 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 18 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 19 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 20 apply. 21 (b) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, 22 lessee, sub-lessee, or managing agent of, or other person having the 23 right of ownership or possession of or the right to sell, rent or lease, 24 land or commercial space: 25 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise deny to or withhold 26 from any person or group of persons land or commercial space because of 27 the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 28 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 29 status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, marital status, status as 30 a victim of domestic violence, or familial status of such person or 31 persons, or to represent that any housing accommodation or land is not 32 available for inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so 33 available; 34 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, 35 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 36 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, 37 age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of domestic 38 violence, or familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of 39 the sale, rental or lease of any such land or commercial space; or in 40 the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith; 41 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 42 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 43 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such land or commercial space 44 or to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 45 purchase, rental or lease of such land or commercial space which 46 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 47 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 48 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 49 military status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, marital status, 50 status as a victim of domestic violence, or familial status; or any 51 intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination. 52 (4) With respect to age and familial status, the provisions of this 53 paragraph shall not apply to the restriction of the sale, rental or 54 lease of land or commercial space exclusively to persons fifty-five 55 years of age or older and the spouse of any such person, or to the 56 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of land to be used for theA. 7170--B 9 1 construction, or location of housing accommodations exclusively for 2 persons sixty-two years of age or older, or intended and operated for 3 occupancy by at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per 4 unit. In determining whether housing is intended and operated for occu- 5 pancy by persons fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) 6 (42 U.S.C. 3607(b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as 7 amended, shall apply. 8 (c) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real 9 estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof: 10 (1) To refuse to sell, rent or lease any housing accommodation, land 11 or commercial space to any person or group of persons or to refuse to 12 negotiate for the sale, rental or lease, of any housing accommodation, 13 land or commercial space to any person or group of persons because of 14 the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 15 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 16 status, sex, height, weight, age, disability, marital status, status as 17 a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial 18 status of such person or persons, or to represent that any housing 19 accommodation, land or commercial space is not available for inspection, 20 sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available, or otherwise to 21 deny or withhold any housing accommodation, land or commercial space or 22 any facilities of any housing accommodation, land or commercial space 23 from any person or group of persons because of the race, creed, color, 24 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 25 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, 26 age, disability, marital status, lawful source of income or familial 27 status of such person or persons. 28 (2) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 29 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 30 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation, 31 land or commercial space or to make any record or inquiry in connection 32 with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommo- 33 dation, land or commercial space which expresses, directly or indirect- 34 ly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, creed, 35 color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orien- 36 tation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, 37 weight, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of domestic 38 violence, lawful source of income or familial status; or any intent to 39 make any such limitation, specification or discrimination. 40 (3) With respect to age and familial status, the provisions of this 41 paragraph shall not apply to the restriction of the sale, rental or 42 lease of any housing accommodation, land or commercial space exclusively 43 to persons fifty-five years of age or older and the spouse of any such 44 person, or to the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of any hous- 45 ing accommodation or land to be used for the construction or location of 46 housing accommodations for persons sixty-two years of age or older, or 47 intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person fifty-five 48 years of age or older per unit. In determining whether housing is 49 intended and operated for occupancy by persons fifty-five years of age 50 or older, Sec. 807 (b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 (b) (2) (c)) of the 51 federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall apply. 52 (d) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real 53 estate board, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, citi- 54 zenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 55 expression, military status, age, sex, height, weight, disability, mari- 56 tal status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source ofA. 7170--B 10 1 income or familial status of any individual who is otherwise qualified 2 for membership, to exclude or expel such individual from membership, or 3 to discriminate against such individual in the terms, conditions and 4 privileges of membership in such board. 5 § 7. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 296-a of the executive law, as 6 separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, are 7 amended to read as follows: 8 1. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any creditor or 9 any officer, agent or employee thereof: 10 a. In the case of applications for credit with respect to the 11 purchase, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or mainte- 12 nance of any housing accommodation, land or commercial space to discrim- 13 inate against any such applicant because of the race, creed, color, 14 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 15 gender identity or expression, military status, age, sex, height, 16 weight, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, disa- 17 bility, or familial status of such applicant or applicants or any 18 member, stockholder, director, officer or employee of such applicant or 19 applicants, or of the prospective occupants or tenants of such housing 20 accommodation, land or commercial space, in the granting, withholding, 21 extending or renewing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms or condi- 22 tions of, any such credit; 23 b. To discriminate in the granting, withholding, extending or renew- 24 ing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms or conditions of, any form of 25 credit, on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship 26 or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 27 expression, military status, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, 28 status as a victim of domestic violence, disability, or familial status; 29 c. To use any form of application for credit or use or make any record 30 or inquiry which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, 31 specification, or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national 32 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender 33 identity or expression, military status, age, sex, height, weight, mari- 34 tal status, status as a victim of domestic violence, disability, or 35 familial status; 36 d. To make any inquiry of an [applicant concerning his or her] appli- 37 cant's capacity to reproduce, or [his or her] such applicant's use or 38 advocacy of any form of birth control or family planning; 39 e. To refuse to consider sources of an applicant's income or to 40 subject an applicant's income to discounting, in whole or in part, 41 because of an applicant's race, creed, color, national origin, citizen- 42 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 43 expression, military status, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, 44 status as a victim of domestic violence, childbearing potential, disa- 45 bility, or familial status; 46 f. To discriminate against a married person because such person 47 neither uses nor is known by the surname of [his or her] their spouse. 48 This paragraph shall not apply to any situation where the use of a 49 surname would constitute or result in a criminal act. 50 2. Without limiting the generality of subdivision one of this section, 51 it shall be considered discriminatory if, because of an applicant's or 52 class of applicants' race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 53 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 54 military status, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, status as a 55 victim of domestic violence, disability, or familial status, (i) an 56 applicant or class of applicants is denied credit in circumstances whereA. 7170--B 11 1 other applicants of like overall credit worthiness are granted credit, 2 or (ii) special requirements or conditions, such as requiring co-obli- 3 gors or reapplication upon marriage, are imposed upon an applicant or 4 class of applicants in circumstances where similar requirements or 5 conditions are not imposed upon other applicants of like overall credit 6 worthiness. 7 3. It shall not be considered discriminatory if credit differen- 8 tiations or decisions are based upon factually supportable, objective 9 differences in applicants' overall credit worthiness, which may include 10 reference to such factors as current income, assets and prior credit 11 history of such applicants, as well as reference to any other relevant 12 factually supportable data; provided, however, that no creditor shall 13 consider, in evaluating the credit worthiness of an applicant, aggregate 14 statistics or assumptions relating to race, creed, color, national 15 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender 16 identity or expression, military status, sex, height, weight, marital 17 status, status as a victim of domestic violence or disability, or to the 18 likelihood of any group of persons bearing or rearing children, or for 19 that reason receiving diminished or interrupted income in the future. 20 § 8. Subdivision 2 and paragraph b of subdivision 3 of section 296-c 21 of the executive law, subdivision 2 as separately amended by chapters 22 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, paragraphs a, b, and c of subdivision 2 23 and paragraph b of subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 305 of the laws 24 of 2023, are amended to read as follows: 25 2. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to: 26 a. refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from internship 27 an intern or to discriminate against such intern in terms, conditions or 28 privileges of employment as an intern because of the intern's age, race, 29 creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual 30 orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, 31 height, weight, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, mari- 32 tal status, or status as a victim of domestic violence; 33 b. discriminate against an intern in receiving, classifying, disposing 34 or otherwise acting upon applications for internships because of the 35 intern's age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 36 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 37 tary status, sex, height, weight, disability, predisposing genetic char- 38 acteristics, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence; 39 c. print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any state- 40 ment, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application 41 for employment as an intern or to make any inquiry in connection with 42 prospective employment, which expresses directly or indirectly, any 43 limitation, specification or discrimination as to age, race, creed, 44 color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orien- 45 tation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, height, 46 weight, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status 47 or status as a victim of domestic violence, or any intent to make any 48 such limitation, specification or discrimination, unless based upon a 49 bona fide occupational qualification; provided, however, that neither 50 this paragraph nor any provision of this chapter or other law shall be 51 construed to prohibit the department of civil service or the department 52 of personnel of any city containing more than one county from requesting 53 information from applicants for civil service internships or examina- 54 tions concerning any of the aforementioned characteristics, other than 55 sexual orientation, for the purpose of conducting studies to identify 56 and resolve possible problems in recruitment and testing of members ofA. 7170--B 12 1 minority groups to ensure the fairest possible and equal opportunities 2 for employment in the civil service for all persons, regardless of age, 3 race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, 4 sexual orientation, military status, sex, height, weight, disability, 5 predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status or status as a 6 victim of domestic violence; 7 d. to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person 8 [because he or she] who has opposed any practices forbidden under this 9 article or [because he or she] who has filed a complaint, testified or 10 assisted in any proceeding under this article; [or] 11 e. to compel an intern who is pregnant to take a leave of absence, 12 unless the intern is prevented by such pregnancy from performing the 13 activities involved in the job or occupation in a reasonable manner[.]; 14 or 15 f. the provisions of this subdivision relating to height and weight 16 shall not apply to an action by an employer based on a person's height 17 or weight when such action is required by federal law or regulation. 18 Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent alternative 19 actions reasonably taken by an employer to allow persons who do not meet 20 height or weight criteria to perform the essential requisites and/or 21 normal operations of an internship. In instances where an employer is 22 not required by law or regulation as described in this paragraph, it 23 shall be an affirmative defense that an action was taken because there 24 were no available alternative actions the employer could have taken that 25 could have reasonably allowed the person to perform the essential requi- 26 sites and/or normal operations of the internship. 27 b. subject an intern to unwelcome harassment based on age, sex, 28 height, weight, race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity 29 or expression, military status, disability, predisposing genetic charac- 30 teristics, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, 31 national origin, or citizenship or immigration status, or where such 32 harassment has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with 33 the intern's work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile, or 34 offensive working environment. 35 § 9. Section 292 of the executive law is amended by adding two new 36 subdivisions 42 and 43 to read as follows: 37 42. The term "weight" means a numerical measurement of total body 38 weight, the ratio of a person's weight in relation to height, the ratio 39 of a person's weight in relation to any measurement or measurements, or 40 an individual's unique physical composition of weight through body size, 41 shape and proportions. Weight includes measurements of individual body 42 components, such as waist, hip, or chest and any ratio of such body 43 measurements. Weight encompasses, but is not limited to, an impression 44 of a person as fat or thin regardless of numerical measurement. An indi- 45 vidual's body size, shape proportions, and composition may make them 46 appear fat or thin regardless of numerical weight. 47 43. The term "height" means a numerical measurement of total body 48 height, the expression of a person's height in relation to weight, the 49 ratio of a person's height in relation to any measurement or measure- 50 ments, or an individual's unique physical composition of height through 51 body size, shape, or proportions. Height includes measurements of indi- 52 vidual body components, such as leg, torso, arm, foot, and neck. Height 53 encompasses, but is not limited to, an impression of a person as tall or 54 short regardless of numerical measurement. The length of a person's 55 limbs in proportion to the person's body may create the impression ofA. 7170--B 13 1 the person as tall, short, or atypically proportioned, independent of 2 numerical measurements of height. 3 § 10. This act shall not annul, alter, affect or exempt any employer 4 subject to the provisions of this act from complying with the laws, 5 ordinances, rules or regulations of any locality, except to the extent 6 that such laws, ordinances, rules or regulations are inconsistent with 7 any provision of this act, but no such law, ordinance, rule or regu- 8 lation shall be considered inconsistent if it affords equal or greater 9 protection to the employee. 10 § 11. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day 11 after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, 12 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the 13 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be 14 made and completed on or before such effective date.
