Relates to the statute of limitations for actions based on discriminatory practices in employment; establishes action must be commenced within six years.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A188
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
statute of limitations for actions based upon unlawful discriminatory
practice in employment
PURPOSE:
This bill would extend the statute of limitations for harassment in the
workplace to six years.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends section 213 of the civil practice law and rules.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Current state law sets forth a three-year statute of limitations for
cases of workplace discrimination, including discrimination in the form
of harassment. Though this statute of limitations is longer than the
180-300 day statute required under federal law, it is still not long
enough for many victims of harassment who fear losing their job or being
penalized for coming forward.
Workplace harassment may be based on race, sex, religion, gender, sexual
orientation, nationality, age, disability or other characteristics and
includes both verbal and physical behavior. Despite being unlawful
under both state and federal law, workplace harassment still occurs
daily in the form of offensive jokes, name-calling, intimidation, sexual
advances and more.
Those who are victims of workplace harassment may not come forward or
file complaints for quite some time after the first instance occurs.
Oftentimes this is due to a fear of not being believed, losing their
job, being denied advancement, or otherwise being penalized for report-
ing these behaviors. This bill would better protect those who have been
victimized by workplace harassment by doubling the amount of time they
have to file a claim in court to six years.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.65 - Referred to Health; 5.345 - Passed Senate
2021-22: A.233-A - Advanced to Third Reading; S.849-A - Passed Senate
2019-20: A.304 - Referred to Judiciary; S.6322 - Referred to Judiciary
2017-18: A.11293 - Referred to Judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
188
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT, CRUZ, PAULIN,
BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SIMON, KELLES, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, EPSTEIN, DINOWITZ,
JACOBSON, MAMDANI, RAGA, BORES, REYES, SIMONE -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
statute of limitations for actions based upon unlawful discriminatory
practice in employment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The section heading and subdivisions 7, 8 and 9 of section
2 213 of the civil practice law and rules, the section heading as amended
3 and subdivision 7 as renumbered by chapter 43 of the laws of 1975,
4 subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 532 of the laws of 1963, and subdi-
5 vision 8 as amended by chapter 403 of the laws of 2004, and subdivision
6 9 as added by chapter 184 of the laws of 2019 are amended and a new
7 subdivision 10 is added to read as follows:
8 Actions to be commenced within six years: where not otherwise provided
9 for; on contract; on sealed instrument; on bond or note, and mortgage
10 upon real property; by state based on misappropriation of public proper-
11 ty; based on mistake; by corporation against director, officer or stock-
12 holder; based on fraud; based upon unlawful discriminatory practice in
13 employment.
14 7. an action by or on behalf of a corporation against a present or
15 former director, officer or stockholder for an accounting, or to procure
16 a judgment on the ground of fraud, or to enforce a liability, penalty or
17 forfeiture, or to recover damages for waste or for an injury to property
18 or for an accounting in conjunction therewith[.];
19 8. an action based upon fraud; the time within which the action must
20 be commenced shall be the greater of six years from the date the cause
21 of action accrued or two years from the time the plaintiff or the person
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00981-01-5
A. 188 2
1 under whom the plaintiff claims discovered the fraud, or could with
2 reasonable diligence have discovered it[.];
3 9. an action by the attorney general pursuant to article
4 twenty-three-A of the general business law or subdivision twelve of
5 section sixty-three of the executive law[.];
6 10. an action based upon unlawful discriminatory practice in employ-
7 ment pursuant to article fifteen of the executive law.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
9 have become a law.
