Bill Text: NY S01276 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Directs the NYS energy research and development authority and public and private operators of each nuclear-powered electric generating facility to establish a nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program; makes related provisions as to elements of the program and provides that employees of such plants shall not be subject to retaliation; requires authority to investigate reported safety concerns; provides that whistleblowers shall have standing to litigate and may do so without exhaustion of administration remedies; authorizes the attorney general to bring actions to enforce the labor law provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-19 - PRINT NUMBER 1276A [S01276 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S01276-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1276--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 8, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, LIU, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications -- recommitted to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- commit- tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom- mitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, the public service law, the labor law, the civil service law and the executive law, in relation to establishing a nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The legislature finds that safe operation of the publicly 2 and privately owned nuclear-powered electric generating facilities with- 3 in the state is a matter of paramount public concern. The legislature 4 further finds that an essential component of any safety strategy is a 5 program which assures that employees who have first-hand knowledge of 6 potential safety problems can freely communicate their concerns without 7 fear of retaliation. Although laws and regulations exist at both the 8 state and federal level to protect whistleblowers, the legislature finds 9 that the purpose served by such laws will be furthered if an affirmative 10 program exists which encourages employees to come forward with safety- 11 related concerns. The legislature finds that the state, as the owner of 12 the power plants operated by the power authority of the state of New 13 York, has an interest and obligation to ensure that such facilities are 14 being managed in a way that provides the highest possible level of safe- 15 ty. The legislature also finds that the state has an interest in 16 protecting and an obligation to protect its citizens from the possible 17 hazards of privately owned nuclear-powered electric generating facili- 18 ties. 19 § 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 20 1873-a to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04382-03-2S. 1276--A 2 1 § 1873-a. Nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program. 1. 2 "Employees at a nuclear-powered electric generating facility" means 3 those persons employed at publicly and privately owned nuclear-powered 4 electric generating facilities, including but not limited to: full-time 5 and part-time employees, contractors, those employees on probation, and 6 temporary employees. 7 2. The authority, after consultation with the United States nuclear 8 regulatory commission, the chair of the public service commission, and 9 the commissioner of the department of labor, shall establish a nuclear 10 whistleblower access and assistance program. 11 3. The nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program shall 12 include, at a minimum, the following provisions: 13 (a) the authority shall evaluate and comment on whistleblower programs 14 proposed by operators of nuclear-powered electric generating facilities 15 pursuant to section one thousand five of this chapter and section 16 sixty-five of the public service law; 17 (b) the authority shall establish toll-free telephone and facsimile 18 lines available to contractors, advocates shielding the identity of 19 inside whistleblowers, and all persons within the state of New York's 20 nuclear industry who have knowledge of issues that affect public health 21 and safety. The authority shall offer: 22 (i) advice regarding the employee's rights under applicable state and 23 federal laws and advice and options available to all persons; 24 (ii) an opportunity for contractors, advocates shielding the identity 25 of inside whistleblowers, and all persons within the state of New York's 26 nuclear industry to identify concerns regarding any safety issue at a 27 nuclear-powered electric generating facility, including but not limited 28 to any violations or potential violations of regulations of the nuclear 29 regulatory commission; 30 (iii) the option of contacting a neutral consultant for the purpose of 31 seeking unbiased, non-governmental information to help resolve safety 32 concerns; 33 (c) any communications between an employee and the authority pursuant 34 to this section shall be held strictly confidential by the authority, 35 unless the employee specifically waives in writing the right to confi- 36 dentiality (the person alleging a safety violation is not required to 37 identify himself/herself) to any entity, including the nuclear regulato- 38 ry commission; 39 (d) the authority shall perform a preliminary evaluation of any safety 40 concern identified by a caller within seventy-two hours and give the 41 caller evaluation rights if he or she so desires and conduct follow-up 42 reports every two weeks thereafter for an appropriate length of time to 43 be determined by the authority; 44 (e) regarding any concern for which the authority lacks sufficient 45 expertise to reach a conclusion or which, in the authority's judgment, 46 represents a significant public health or safety concern, the authority 47 shall contact the United States nuclear regulatory commission, shall 48 communicate such concern, and shall maintain communications with the 49 commission and the caller, whenever possible, regarding any investi- 50 gation of such concern; and 51 (f) the authority shall consult with the department of law regarding 52 any employee at a nuclear-powered electric generating facility who may 53 have recourse to an action pursuant to section seven hundred forty of 54 the labor law or section seventy-five-b of the civil service law. 55 4. Whether or not the authority proceeds, the whistleblower, if iden- 56 tified or the advocate who is shielding the identity of an inside whist-S. 1276--A 3 1 leblower, shall have standing to litigate and shall be entitled to expe- 2 dited proceedings in the courts of this state without regard to having 3 exhausted administrative remedies. 4 § 3. Section 1005 of the public authorities law is amended by adding 5 a new subdivision 28 to read as follows: 6 28. At each nuclear-powered electric generating facility owned or 7 operated by the authority, the authority shall establish and implement a 8 whistleblower program. Within six months of the effective date of this 9 subdivision, the authority shall submit to the New York state energy 10 research and development authority a proposed plan for a program to 11 implement the purposes of this subdivision. Such program shall include, 12 at a minimum: 13 (a) opportunity for access to senior management for purposes of commu- 14 nicating safety concerns that affect public health and safety; 15 (b) education regarding employee rights and protections pursuant to 16 applicable state and federal laws and regulations, including, to the 17 extent permitted by the nuclear regulatory commission, display at promi- 18 nent locations within the facility of the toll-free telephone number 19 which provides access to the New York state energy research and develop- 20 ment authority's nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program 21 established pursuant to section eighteen hundred seventy-three-a of this 22 chapter. 23 § 4. Section 65 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 24 subdivision 17 to read as follows: 25 17. At each nuclear-powered electric generating facility owned or 26 operated by an electric corporation, the corporation shall establish and 27 implement a whistleblower program. Within six months of the effective 28 date of this subdivision, the corporation shall submit to the New York 29 state energy research and development authority a proposed plan for a 30 program to implement the purposes of this subdivision. Such program 31 shall include, at a minimum: 32 (a) opportunity for access to senior management for purposes of commu- 33 nicating safety concerns; 34 (b) education regarding employee rights and protections pursuant to 35 applicable state and federal laws and regulations, including, to the 36 extent permitted by the nuclear regulatory commission, display at promi- 37 nent locations within the facility of the toll-free telephone number 38 which provides access to the New York state energy research and develop- 39 ment authority's nuclear whistleblower access and assistance program. 40 § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 740 of the labor law, 41 as amended by chapter 522 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 42 follows: 43 (a) discloses, or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public 44 body an activity, policy or practice of the employer that the employee 45 reasonably believes is in violation of law, rule or regulation or that 46 the employee reasonably believes poses a substantial and specific danger 47 to the public health or safety or, in the case of an employee at a 48 nuclear-powered electric generating facility, discloses or threatens to 49 disclose any public health or safety concern, regardless of whether or 50 not such concern relates to a violation of a law, rule, or regulation; 51 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 740 of the labor law is amended by 52 adding a new undesignated paragraph to read as follows: 53 This subdivision shall not apply to any disclosure made by an employee 54 at a nuclear-powered electric generating facility, as defined pursuant 55 to section eighteen hundred seventy-three-a of the public authorities 56 law, who believes in good-faith that a disclosure to a supervisor wouldS. 1276--A 4 1 be inconsistent with the federal obstruction of justice laws codified at 2 18 U.S.C. 1512 or the atomic energy act/energy reorganization act. 3 § 7. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 75-b of the civil 4 service law, as added by chapter 660 of the laws of 1984, is amended to 5 read as follows: 6 (c) "Governmental body" shall mean (i) an officer, employee, agency, 7 department, division, bureau, board, commission, council, authority or 8 other body of a public employer, (ii) employee, committee, member, or 9 commission of the legislative branch of government, (iii) a represen- 10 tative, member or employee of a legislative body of a county, town, 11 village or any other political subdivision or civil division of the 12 state, (iv) a law enforcement agency or any member or employee of a law 13 enforcement agency, [or] (v) the judiciary or any employee of the judi- 14 ciary, (vi) employees at a nuclear-powered electric generating facility, 15 or (vii) the United States nuclear regulatory commission. 16 § 8. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 75-b of the civil 17 service law, as amended by chapter 899 of the laws of 1986, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 [(a)] A public employer shall not dismiss or take other disciplinary 20 or other adverse personnel action against a public employee regarding 21 the employee's employment because the employee discloses to a govern- 22 mental body information: (i) regarding a violation of a law, rule or 23 regulation which violation creates and presents a substantial and 24 specific danger to the public health or safety; [or] (ii) which the 25 employee reasonably believes to be true and reasonably believes consti- 26 tutes an improper governmental action; or (iii) for an employee at a 27 nuclear-powered electric generating facility, as defined pursuant to 28 section eighteen hundred seventy-three-a of the public authorities law, 29 which relates to a public health or safety concern, regardless of wheth- 30 er or not such concern relates to a violation of law, rule, or regu- 31 lation. "Improper governmental action" shall mean any action by a public 32 employer or employee, or an agent of such employer or employee, which is 33 undertaken in the performance of such agent's official duties, whether 34 or not such action is within the scope of his employment, and which is 35 in violation of any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation. 36 § 9. Section 63 of the executive law is amended by adding a new subdi- 37 vision 18 to read as follows: 38 18. Bring, upon the recommendation of the New York state energy 39 research and development authority, actions pursuant to section seven 40 hundred forty of the labor law and section seventy-five-b of the civil 41 service law on behalf of employees at nuclear-powered electric generat- 42 ing facilities, as defined pursuant to section eighteen hundred seven- 43 ty-three-a of the public authorities law. 44 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.
