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A02596 Summary:

A02596 Actions:

A02596 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A2596
 
SPONSOR: Brennan (MS)

 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public authorities law, in
relation to protecting metropolitan transportation authority employees
from its possible negligence
 
 
PURPOSE  OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: In order to protect the metropolitan
transit  authority  employees  from  preventable  safety  and   security
violations.
 
 
SUMMARY  OF  SPECIFIC  PROVISIONS: To protect the metropolitan transit
authority employees from injury due to violations of safety regulations,

this bill places liability upon the  authority  for  injuries  or  death
caused by negligence on the part of the MTA.
 
 
EFFECTS  OF  PRESENT  LAW THIS BILL WOULD ALTER: This bill calls for a
new subdivision 5 to be added to section 1276 of the public  authorities
law.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:  There  have recently been numerous trackmen and others
who have been injured or killed due to violations of safety  regulations
within  the  MTA.  OSHA standards attempt to regulate these safety regu-
lations. However, many times these standards are not adhered  to.  Locks
are  often  not  placed on track switch levers, "no clearance" signs are
often not posted when needed, and in many instances the trackmen are not
notified of a track being used by a train in both directions. This  bill
attempts  to  protect  these vulnerable trackmen from such negligence as
well as other employees who are harassed by the public and given  inade-
quate security.
 
 

PRIOR  LEGISLATIVE  HISTORY:  A.  3876  -  1994 - Reported to Ways and
Means.  A.4039 of 1995-96 - In Corporations.   A.4764 of  1997-98  -  In
Corporations.  A.4180 - 1999-2000 - In Corporations.  A.2177 - 2001-02 -
In  Corporations.  A.3366 - 2003-04 - In Corporations.  A.1532 - 2005-06
- In Corporations.  A2231 of 2007-08; A4706 of 2009-10; A3314  of  2011-
12; A5383 of 2013-14 - referred to Corporations.
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:  None
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately

A02596 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2596
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 20, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. BRENNAN, COLTON, HOOPER -- Multi-Sponsored by --
          M. of A. ABBATE, COOK, GLICK, GOTTFRIED, HEASTIE, ORTIZ --  read  once
          and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commis-
          sions
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the public authorities law, in relation to protecting
          metropolitan transportation  authority  employees  from  its  possible
          negligence
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Legislative intent. This legislative body  recognizes  that
     2  metropolitan  transportation  authority workers face dangerous and some-
     3  times fatal circumstances daily due to the nature of  their  work.  This
     4  body  also recognizes that given the dangerous nature of the occupation,
     5  there is a need for competent supervision and precise up-to-date  infor-
     6  mation  on  the  possible  dangerous  conditions facing the employees on
     7  their assignment. In order to ensure proper supervision, there  must  be
     8  an  avenue of redress for employees or their representatives to use when
     9  they are not being given appropriate and  adequate  supervision  or  are
    10  subject  to  conditions where safety markers or designations mandated by
    11  law or regulation are not present. Therefore, it is the intent  of  this
    12  legislative  body to protect these metropolitan transportation authority
    13  employees from such negligence by enacting the following legislation.
    14    § 2. Subdivisions 5 and 6 of section 1276 of  the  public  authorities
    15  law are renumbered subdivisions 6 and 7 and a new subdivision 5 is added
    16  to read as follows:
    17    5.  (a) In addition to any other right of action or recovery under any
    18  other provision of law, in the event any accident causing injury,  death
    19  or  disease  which  results  in death occurs directly or indirectly as a
    20  result of any neglect, omission, willful or culpable negligence  of  any
    21  person  or persons employed by the metropolitan transportation authority
    22  in permitting to be violated, or failing  to  comply  with,  any  safety
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01807-01-5
        A. 2596                             2
 
     1  standards  authorized  pursuant  to  any  law, rule or regulation of any
     2  federal or state agency concerned with occupational safety  and  health,
     3  the  person  or  persons  guilty  of  said neglect, omission, willful or
     4  culpable  negligence at the time of such injury or death shall be liable
     5  to pay any employee so injured, or whose life may be lost while  in  the
     6  discharge of any duty imposed by the metropolitan transportation author-
     7  ity,  its  officers and employees, or to pay to the spouse and children,
     8  or to pay the parents, or to pay the brothers  and  sisters,  being  the
     9  surviving  heirs-at-law  of  any deceased person thus having lost his or
    10  her life, a sum of money, in case of injury to person, not less than one
    11  thousand dollars and, in the case of death, not less than five  thousand
    12  dollars,  such  liability to be determined and such sums recovered in an
    13  action to be instituted by any person injured or the family or relatives
    14  of any person killed as aforesaid provided,  however,  that  nothing  in
    15  this section shall be deemed to expand or restrict any right afforded to
    16  or limitation imposed upon an employer, an employee or his or her repre-
    17  sentative by virtue of any provisions of the workers' compensation law.
    18    (b)  With  respect to any recovery, there shall be offset against such
    19  recovery any amounts paid pursuant to the workers' compensation law  and
    20  collective bargaining agreements.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.