NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1214
SPONSOR: Dinowitz (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general obligations law, in relation to prohibiting
employers from requiring certain conditions or preconditions of employ-
ment
PURPOSE OF BILL:
This bill would prohibit an employer from requiring an employee or
person seeking employment to waiver, arbitrate, or otherwise diminish
any existing or future claim, right, or benefit to which the employee or
person seeking employment would otherwise be entitled to under any
provision of New York State or federal law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF BILL:
Section one of the bill adds 5-338 to the general obligations law to
prohibit any employer from requiring an employee or person seeking
employment to waiver, arbitrate, or otherwise diminish any existing or
future claim, right, or benefit to which the employee or person seeking
employment would otherwise be entitled to under any provision of New
York State or federal law. This section further exempts any contracts or
agreements negotiated with any labor union through collective bargain-
ing.
Section two provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In the fall of 2018, the Kentucky Supreme Court outlawed mandatory arbi-
tration agreements that require applicants or employees to sign if they
want to be hired or remain employed* (Northern Kentucky Area Development
Dist. V Snyder). The decision was based off of existing Kentucky law and
this legislation would codify that law into New York State Law.
Restrictive or coercive employment contracts such as those requiring a
current or future employee to waiver, arbitrate, or otherwise diminish
any existing or future claim, right, or benefit to which the employee or
person seeking employment would otherwise be entitled to under any
provision of New York State or federal law, are not in line with fair
and equitable hiring practices. This legislation seeks to address these
unjust contract provisions from being imposed on employees in New York.
*https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/news-insights/ kentucky-becomes-
firststate-to-prohibit- mandatory-arbitration-as-a-condition-of-
employment.html
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A.856- Passed Assembly /S.3258- Third Reading Calendar
2023: A.856- Passed Assembly /S.3258- Judiciary
2022: A.1514 - Passed Assembly / S.1345 - Judiciary
2021: A.1514 - Third Reading Calendar / S.1345 - Judiciary
2019-20: A.5777-A - Third Reading Calendar
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1214
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, REYES, SAYEGH, SIMON, STIRPE, STECK,
GLICK, WEPRIN, CRUZ, KELLES, JACKSON, ROSENTHAL, TAPIA -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to prohibiting
employers from requiring certain conditions or preconditions of
employment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new
2 section 5-338 to read as follows:
3 § 5-338. Conditions and preconditions of employment. 1. As used in
4 this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Employer" means any person, either individual, corporation, part-
6 nership, agency, or firm, that employs an employee and includes any
7 person, either individual, corporation, partnership, agency, or firm,
8 acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation
9 to an employee; and
10 (b) "Employee" means any person employed by or suffered or permitted
11 to work for an employer.
12 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no employer
13 shall require as a condition or precondition of employment that any
14 employee or person seeking employment waive, arbitrate, or otherwise
15 diminish any existing or future claim, right, or benefit to which the
16 employee or person seeking employment would otherwise be entitled under
17 any provision of any New York state or federal law.
18 3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to contracts or
19 agreements negotiated with any labor union through collective bargain-
20 ing.
21 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
22 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01725-01-5
