Bill Text: NY S08521 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes a racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias training program for all state government and private employees in the state.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-13 - PRINT NUMBER 8521B [S08521 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08521-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8521--B IN SENATE June 6, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, ADDABBO, HARCKHAM, KAPLAN, KRUEGER, MARTI- NEZ, MAY, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the labor law and the civil service law, in relation to establishing a racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias train- ing program for all state government and private employees in the state 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 201-h to 2 read as follows: 3 § 201-h. Racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias training. 1. 4 a. The department shall consult with the division of human rights to 5 produce a model training program on racial equity, social justice, and 6 implicit bias. 7 b. Such model racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias train- 8 ing prevention policy shall be interactive and include: 9 (i) a definition, explanation, and examples of racial equity, social 10 justice, and implicit bias consistent with guidance issued by the 11 department in consultation with the division of human rights; 12 (ii) examples of conduct that would be examples of violating equity, 13 social justice, race, or implicit bias principles; 14 (iii) information concerning best practices to avoid inequity, social 15 injustice, racial, or implicit bias by a civil service appointee in 16 actions connected to their professional work; 17 (iv) information regarding the impact of racial equity, social 18 justice, and implicit bias may have on individuals across the state; 19 (v) examples of racial inequities and their impact on communities of 20 color; 21 (vi) information concerning employees' rights of redress and all 22 available forums for adjudicating complaints; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16597-05-0S. 8521--B 2 1 (vii) any other information the department and the division of human 2 rights deems relevant and appropriate for such a course. 3 c. The department shall include information in such model training 4 program addressing conduct by supervisors that are contrary to any state 5 policy on racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias, and shall 6 include information as to how to report concerns regarding supervisor 7 conduct. 8 d. Every employer in the state, both public and private, shall utilize 9 the model training program pursuant to this subdivision or establish a 10 training program for employees that equals or exceeds the minimum stand- 11 ards of this section, and such training program has been approved by the 12 department and the division of human rights. 13 e. The model training program created pursuant to this section, and 14 any equivalent program shall be reviewed and reapproved by the depart- 15 ment and the division of human rights on a biennial basis. 16 2. Every person who is an employee in the state on the effective date 17 of this section shall be required to complete the model racial equity, 18 social justice, and implicit bias training program, produced pursuant to 19 subdivision one of this section, or an equivalent approved by the 20 department and the division of human rights, within one year of the 21 effective date of this section. Each person who is employed after the 22 effective date of this section, shall be required to complete the model 23 racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias training program 24 produced pursuant to subdivision one of this section, or an equivalent 25 approved by the department and the division of human rights, within one 26 month of being hired. An employee shall be required to take such train- 27 ing once while actively employed by an employer. 28 3. a. Every employer in the state shall provide his or her employees, 29 in writing in English and in the language identified by each employee as 30 the primary language of such employee, at the time of hiring and at any 31 racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias prevention training 32 provided pursuant to subdivision two of this section, a notice contain- 33 ing such employer's racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias 34 prevention policy and the information presented at such employer's 35 racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias prevention training 36 program. 37 b. The commissioner shall prepare templates of the model racial equi- 38 ty, social justice, and implicit bias prevention policy created and 39 published pursuant to subdivision one of this section and the model 40 racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias prevention training 41 program produced pursuant to subdivision two of this section. The 42 commissioner shall determine, in his or her discretion, which languages 43 to provide in addition to English, based on the size of the New York 44 state population that speaks each language and any other factor that the 45 commissioner shall deem relevant. All such templates shall be made 46 available to employers in the state in such manner as determined by the 47 commissioner. 48 c. When an employee identifies as his or her primary language a 49 language for which a template is not available from the commissioner, 50 the employer shall comply with this subdivision by providing that 51 employee an English-language notice. 52 d. An employer shall not be penalized for errors or omissions in the 53 non-English portions of any notice provided by the commissioner. 54 4. The department may promulgate any regulations necessary for the 55 purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section.S. 8521--B 3 1 5. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 2 ing meanings: 3 a. "Equity" means fair and just opportunities and outcomes for all 4 individuals. 5 b. "Social justice" means every individual deserves to benefit from 6 the same economic, political and social rights and opportunities, free 7 from health disparities, regardless of race; socioeconomic status; age; 8 sex, including on the basis of gender identity or orientation; religion; 9 disability; or other characteristics. 10 c. "Race" means a social construct that artificially divides people 11 into distinct groups based on characteristics such as physical appear- 12 ance, including color; ancestral heritage; cultural affiliation; 13 cultural history; ethnic classification; and the social, economic and 14 political needs of a society at a given period. 15 d. "Implicit bias" means the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our 16 understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. 17 § 2. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section 153 to 18 read as follows: 19 § 153. Racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias training. 20 Every person who is a New York state government employee, including but 21 not limited to managerial and confidential positions, on the effective 22 date of this section shall be required to complete the model racial 23 equity, social justice, and implicit bias training program, produced 24 pursuant to section two hundred one-h of the labor law, or an equivalent 25 approved by the department and the division of human rights, within one 26 year of the effective date of this section. Each person who is appointed 27 to or employed as a New York state government employee, including but 28 not limited to managerial and confidential positions, after the effec- 29 tive date of this section, shall be required to complete the model 30 racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias training program 31 produced pursuant to section two hundred one-h of the labor law, or an 32 equivalent approved by the department and the division of human rights, 33 within one month of being hired as a New York state government employee. 34 A New York state government employee shall be required to take such 35 training once while actively employed as a New York state government 36 employee. Any prior New York state government employee who leaves state 37 government employment after the effective date of this section and later 38 returns to any New York state government position shall be required to 39 complete the model training program or an equivalent approved by the 40 department and the division of human rights within one month of return- 41 ing to New York state government employment. 42 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 43 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the department of 44 labor, in consultation with the division of human rights, is authorized 45 to create the racial equity, social justice, and implicit bias training 46 program required to be created and published pursuant to section 201-h 47 of the labor law as added by section one of this act.
