Bill Text: NY S00484 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Bill 484

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Provides that if any employee, engaged in the service of any commuter rail service owned or operated by the authority or its subsidiaries, shall suffer a physical and/or mental injury that is caused by a passenger, customer or member of the public while the employee is performing an assigned duty, the employer shall be held liable for any health care costs attributable to such injury; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S00484 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00484-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           484

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. COMRIE, RAMOS, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Trans-
          portation

        AN  ACT  to amend the railroad law, in relation to providing that inter-
          city rail passenger services  and  commuter  rail  services  shall  be
          liable for health care costs for injuries to railroad employees caused
          by passengers, customers or members of the public

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

     1    Section 1. Section 64 of the  railroad  law  is  amended  to  read  as
     2  follows:
     3    §  64.  Injuries  to  employees.  1. In all actions against a railroad
     4  corporation, foreign or domestic,  doing  business  in  this  state,  or
     5  against  a  receiver thereof, for personal injury to, or death resulting
     6  from personal injury of any person, while  in  the  employment  of  such
     7  corporation,  or  receiver,  arising  from the negligence of such corpo-
     8  ration or receiver or of any of its [or], his or her officers or employ-
     9  ees, every employee, or his or her legal representatives, shall have the
    10  same rights and remedies for an injury, or for death, suffered by him or
    11  her, from the act or omission of such corporation or receiver or of  its
    12  [or],  his or her officers or employees, as are now allowed by law, and,
    13  in addition to the liability now existing by law, it shall  be  held  in
    14  such  actions that persons engaged in the service of any railroad corpo-
    15  ration, foreign or domestic, doing business in this  state,  or  in  the
    16  service  of a receiver thereof, who are intrusted by such corporation or
    17  receiver, with the authority of superintendence, control or  command  of
    18  other persons in the employment of such corporation or receiver, or with
    19  the authority to direct or control any other employee in the performance
    20  of  the duty of such employee, or who have, as a part of their duty, for
    21  the time being, physical control or  direction  of  the  movement  of  a
    22  signal,  switch,  locomotive engine, car, train or telegraph office, are

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00617-01-3

        S. 484                              2

     1  vice-principals of such corporation or receiver, and are not fellow-ser-
     2  vants of such injured or deceased employee.
     3    2.  If an employee, engaged in the service of any such railroad corpo-
     4  ration, or of a receiver thereof, shall receive any injury by reason  of
     5  any  defect in the condition of the ways, works, machinery, plant, tools
     6  or implements, or of any car, train, locomotive  or  attachment  thereto
     7  belonging,  owned  or operated, or being run and operated by such corpo-
     8  ration or receiver, when such defect could have been discovered by  such
     9  corporation  or  receiver,  by  reasonable  and  proper  care,  tests or
    10  inspection, such corporation or receiver shall be  deemed  to  have  had
    11  knowledge  of  such  defect  before  and  at  the  time  such  injury is
    12  sustained; and when the fact of such defect shall  be  proved  upon  the
    13  trial of any action in the courts of this state, brought by such employ-
    14  ee or his or her legal representatives, against any such railroad corpo-
    15  ration  or  receiver,  on account of such injuries so received, the same
    16  shall be prima facie evidence of negligence on the part of  such  corpo-
    17  ration  or receiver. [This section shall not affect actions or causes of
    18  action existing on May twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred and six; and no]
    19    3. If any employee, engaged in  the  service  of  any  intercity  rail
    20  passenger  service,  as defined by section ninety-seven of this article,
    21  or of a commuter rail service, as defined by section  ninety-seven-a  of
    22  this  article,  shall  suffer  a  physical  and/or mental injury that is
    23  caused by a passenger, customer  or  member  of  the  public  while  the
    24  employee  is performing an assigned duty, pursuant to subdivision eleven
    25  of section 120.05 of the penal law  or  otherwise,  the  intercity  rail
    26  passenger  service or commuter rail service shall be held liable for any
    27  health care costs attributable to such injury and, in cases where it  is
    28  determined by his or her health care provider that such injured employee
    29  is unable to perform his or her assigned duties due to such injury, such
    30  employee shall be compensated by the intercity rail passenger service or
    31  commuter rail service at an amount not less than the employee would have
    32  earned  on  the  assignment  they would have worked until such time that
    33  such employee is designated able to return to work by his or her  health
    34  care provider.
    35    4. No contract, receipt, rule or regulation, between an employee and a
    36  railroad corporation or receiver, shall exempt or limit the liability of
    37  such corporation or receiver from the provisions of this section, howev-
    38  er a collective bargaining agreement may alternatively bargain for bene-
    39  fits greater than those provided by this section.
    40    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.