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S05951 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         5951--A
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    October 11, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  KRUEGER, AVELLA, DILAN, GIPSON, HOYLMAN, KENNEDY,
          LATIMER, PERALTA, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when
          printed  to  be  committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to
          the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations  in  accord-
          ance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended,

          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  executive law, in relation to providing certain
          civil rights protections for interns
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 296-c
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 296-c. Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns. 1.  As
     4  used  in  this section, "Intern" means a person who performs work for an
     5  employer for the purpose of training under the following circumstances:
     6    a. the employer is not committed to hire  the  person  performing  the
     7  work at the conclusion of the training period;

     8    b.  the  employer  and  the  person performing the work agree that the
     9  person performing the work  is  not  entitled  to  wages  for  the  work
    10  performed; and
    11    c. the work performed:
    12    (1) provides or supplements training that may enhance the employabili-
    13  ty of the intern;
    14    (2)  provides  experience for the benefit of the person performing the
    15  work;
    16    (3) does not displace regular employees; and
    17    (4) is performed under the close supervision of existing staff.
    18    2. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to:
    19    a. refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from  internship
    20  an intern or to discriminate against such intern in terms, conditions or

    21  privileges of employment as an intern because of the intern's age, race,
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11709-06-4

        S. 5951--A                          2
 
     1  creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex,
     2  disability,  predisposing  genetic  characteristics,  marital status, or
     3  domestic violence victim status;
     4    b. discriminate against an intern in receiving, classifying, disposing
     5  or  otherwise  acting  upon  applications for internships because of the
     6  intern's age, race, creed, color, national origin,  sexual  orientation,

     7  military  status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics,
     8  marital status, or domestic violence victim status;
     9    c. print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any  state-
    10  ment,  advertisement  or  publication, or to use any form of application
    11  for employment as an intern or to make any inquiry  in  connection  with
    12  prospective  employment,  which  expresses  directly  or indirectly, any
    13  limitation, specification or discrimination  as  to  age,  race,  creed,
    14  color,  national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disa-
    15  bility, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status or domestic
    16  violence victim status, or any intent to make any such limitation, spec-

    17  ification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide  occupational
    18  qualification;  provided,  however,  that neither this paragraph nor any
    19  provision of this chapter or other law shall be  construed  to  prohibit
    20  the  department  of  civil service or the department of personnel of any
    21  city containing more than one county from  requesting  information  from
    22  applicants  for civil service internships or examinations concerning any
    23  of the aforementioned characteristics, other  than  sexual  orientation,
    24  for  the  purpose of conducting studies to identify and resolve possible
    25  problems in recruitment and testing of members  of  minority  groups  to
    26  insure  the  fairest  possible and equal opportunities for employment in

    27  the civil service for all  persons,  regardless  of  age,  race,  creed,
    28  color,  national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disa-
    29  bility, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status or domestic
    30  violence victim status;
    31    d. to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate  against  any  person
    32  because he or she has opposed any practices forbidden under this article
    33  or because he or she has filed a complaint, testified or assisted in any
    34  proceeding under this article; or
    35    e.  to  compel  an  intern who is pregnant to take a leave of absence,
    36  unless the intern is prevented by such  pregnancy  from  performing  the
    37  activities involved in the job or occupation in a reasonable manner.

    38    3. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to:
    39    a. engage in unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or
    40  other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature to an intern when:
    41    (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly
    42  a term or condition of the intern's employment;
    43    (2)  submission  to or rejection of such conduct by the intern is used
    44  as the basis for employment decisions affecting such intern; or
    45    (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering
    46  with the intern's work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile,
    47  or offensive working environment; or
    48    b. subject an intern to unwelcome harassment based on age, sex,  race,

    49  creed,  color,  sexual orientation, military status, disability, predis-
    50  posing genetic characteristics, marital status, domestic violence victim
    51  status, or national origin, where such harassment  has  the  purpose  or
    52  effect of unreasonably interfering with the intern's work performance by
    53  creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
    54    4.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall affect any restrictions upon the
    55  activities of persons  licensed  by  the  state  liquor  authority  with
    56  respect to persons under twenty-one years of age.

        S. 5951--A                          3
 
     1    5.  Nothing  in  this  section shall create an employment relationship

     2  between an employer and an intern for  the  purposes  of  articles  six,
     3  seven, eighteen or nineteen of the labor law.
     4    §  2. Subdivision 4 of section 292 of the executive law, as amended by
     5  chapter 173 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows:
     6    4. The term "unlawful discriminatory  practice"  includes  only  those
     7  practices  specified  in  sections  two  hundred  ninety-six  [and], two
     8  hundred ninety-six-a and two hundred ninety-six-c of this article.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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