Bill Text: NY A09342 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for required notices for employees receiving resignation solicitations from their employer.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-01-07 - referred to labor [A09342 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A09342-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9342 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY December 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to required notices for employees receiving resignation solicitations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 219-e to 2 read as follows: 3 § 219-e. Notice to resigning employees. 1. As used in this section, 4 "resignation solicitation" means any request, demand, encouragement, or 5 offer that an employee resign, including a resignation in lieu of termi- 6 nation that is initiated by the employer. A resignation solicitation 7 shall also include situations where, after being terminated, an employee 8 either asks the employer, or is offered by the employer, to have the 9 termination reclassified as a resignation and the employer agrees to 10 that request. 11 2. An employer who makes a resignation solicitation shall, at the 12 point such solicitation is made and prior to any acceptance of resigna- 13 tion, provide the employee a notice on a form prescribed by the depart- 14 ment stating, among other statements that the department shall 15 prescribe, that: 16 (a) resignation may adversely affect the employee's eligibility for 17 Unemployment Insurance; 18 (b) eligibility for unemployment insurance is determined solely by the 19 department, and an employee may file a claim regardless of whether the 20 separation is labeled a resignation; 21 (c) resignation may affect employer-provided health insurance cover- 22 age, including loss of subsidies, and may result in the employee being 23 responsible for the full cost of COBRA continuation health insurance 24 coverage; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14128-01-5A. 9342 2 1 (d) resignation may affect compensation and benefits, including eligi- 2 bility or vesting of bonuses, commissions, equity awards, and employer 3 retirement contributions; 4 (e) resignation may trigger repayment under employer programs such as 5 tuition payments, relocation, or sign-on bonuses and that such employee 6 should review such compensation agreements prior to resigning; 7 (f) resignation may affect eligibility for certain benefits or 8 protections, including disability benefits or immigration-related work 9 authorization; 10 (g) resignation may affect access to internal grievance, appeal, or 11 arbitration procedures available to current employees; 12 (h) resignation may affect your ability to pursue claims in court or 13 arbitration, including your available remedies such as reinstatement or 14 back pay, and defenses the employer may raise, and that resigning may 15 waive certain claims; 16 (i) if the employee believes they have a claim against their employer, 17 they should consult with an attorney before resigning; 18 (j) pursuant to this section, the employee's resignation made in 19 response to a resignation solicitation is not effective unless they 20 resign in writing; 21 (k) the employee is not required to resign if their employer demands 22 that they do so; and 23 (l) pursuant to this section, any rule, statement or contractual 24 provision waiving or limiting an employee's rights under this section is 25 void. 26 3. Such form shall also include: 27 (a) a space denoting the date that such form was sent to the employee 28 which shall be completed by the employer; 29 (b) a web link or phone number to request the contents of such form in 30 a different language; and 31 (c) a complaint contact number for the department. 32 4. The fact that an employee is in receipt of the form required by 33 this section shall not be considered a resignation. 34 5. The form prescribed in subdivision two of this section may be 35 provided electronically or in person. 36 6. An employer shall retain a copy of such form and the medium in 37 which it was sent for a period of three years. 38 7. The form shall only be considered to be received by the employee 39 where such form is provided to the employee independent of any other 40 documents as soon as practicable following a resignation request being 41 made by the employer. 42 8. Where an employer contests an employee's unemployment insurance 43 eligibility, it shall submit a copy of the notice and proof of delivery 44 to the department, affirmed under penalty of perjury that such copies 45 are true and correct copies of such form and notice. 46 9. Where an employer fails to provide such form required by this 47 section to an employee after soliciting a resignation and such employee 48 resigns such resignation shall be deemed a non-disqualifying separation 49 and an involuntary quit. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivi- 50 sion, an employer shall not be barred from asserting a disqualifying 51 reason other than the employee's resignation. 52 10. An employer that fails to provide such form to the employee when a 53 resignation solicitation is made or as soon as practicable after such 54 resignation solicitation is made or fails to submit such form to the 55 department when contesting that employee's claim for benefits shall be 56 deemed to have waived any defense based on the employee's voluntaryA. 9342 3 1 separation. Such employer shall be precluded from introducing or relying 2 upon such form in any subsequent proceeding related to that separation. 3 11. Regardless of the department's determination, where an employer 4 fails to comply with the provisions of this section, other than subdivi- 5 sion eight of this section, such employer shall be assessed a civil 6 penalty that is the greater of two thousand dollars per violation or two 7 times the total sum of any amounts required to be repaid to the employer 8 by the employee such as bonuses or tuition payments, regardless of 9 whether or not such employer pursues such repayment. 10 12. Any rule or contractual provision eliminating or augmenting an 11 employee's rights with respect to this section shall be deemed void. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 13 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 14 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 15 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 16 on or before such effective date.
