News from Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb
Assembly Office:
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For Release: IMMEDIATELY, January 27, 2014
Contact: Michael Fraser, (518) 455-3751/(518) 859-8518
Assembly Minority Conference Members Introduce Women's Equality Act Legislation
'Let's Take An Approach That Delivers Results to The Women Of New York'

Members of the Assembly Minority Conference have introduced nine individual pieces of legislation that promote and advance critical components of the New York State Women's Equality Agenda. The Women's Equality Act was proposed in 2013, but failed to become law due to opposing legislative processes used in each house of the Legislature.

"Last year was a missed opportunity. The women of New York deserved landmark legislation, but instead received only a political sideshow," Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R,C,I-Canandaigua) said. "It is incumbent upon us to begin a new legislative session by taking a better approach that actually delivers results for the women of New York State. The individual bills introduced are important measures that offer protections, provide increased opportunities, and promote greater equality for women. Let's not let another year pass without action."

In 2013, Governor Cuomo introduced the Women's Equality Act and called for separate provisions to be brought to the floors of each chamber. The Senate introduced and passed nine separate women's equality bills. However, the Assembly Majority introduced a single bill - eliminating any chance for measures to be enacted in 2013.

The nine bills introduced today by members of the Assembly Minority Conference were passed in the Senate last year, and must pass both houses in 2014 to become law. They include:

  • Pay Equity - S.5872 - Enacts pay equity provisions designed to strengthen equal pay protections for women in the workplace. Sponsor: Assemblyman John Ceretto (R,C,I-Lewiston)
  • Sexual Harassment - S.5873 - Applies sexual harassment protections in the law to all organizations of any size. Sponsor: Assemblywoman Jane Corwin (R,C,I-Clarence)
  • Attorney's Fees In Discrimination Cases - S.5874 - Awards attorney's fees to the prevailing party in housing, credit and employment discrimination where the discrimination was done on the basis of sex. Sponsor: Assemblyman Joe Borelli (R,C,I-South Shore)
  • Familial Status Discrimination - S.5875 - Adds familial status to the list of classes protected and covered by the Human Rights Law. Sponsor: Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R,C,I-Melrose)
  • Prohibiting Housing Discrimination - S.5876 - Prohibits housing discrimination based upon a person's status as a domestic violence victim and establishes a task force to study the impact of source of income upon access to housing. Sponsor: Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R,C,I-Brooklyn, Staten Island)
  • Restraining Orders - S.5877 - Specifies that the protected party in whose favor an order of protection or temporary order of protection is issued may not be held to violate that order. Sponsor: Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R,C,WF,I-Huntington Station)
  • Electronic Hearings for Temporary Restraining Orders - S.5878 - Authorizes the establishment of a pilot program for the filing of petitions for temporary orders of protection by electronic means. Sponsor: Minority Leader Brian Kolb
  • Human Trafficking - S.5879 - Enacts the Human Trafficking Victims Protection & Justice Act, creating new crimes, strengthening penalties and protecting victims. Sponsor: Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R,C,I-New Hartford)
  • Pregnancy-Related Employment Accommodations - S.5880 - Classifies pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions as temporary disabilities as defined within the Human Rights Law. Sponsor: Assemblyman Ray Walter (R,C,I-Amherst)

The nine bills have been submitted to the Assembly index clerk, and will be sent to various committees for consideration before moving to the floor for a vote.