Relates to human trafficking awareness and training; requires employees of lodging facilities to have training in the recognition of a human trafficking victim; requires the division of criminal justice services, the office of temporary and disability assistance and the New York state interagency task force on human trafficking to approve a human trafficking recognition training program.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
244--B
Cal. No. 129
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. MAYER, BIAGGI, BROOKS, GOUNARDES, JACKSON, LIU,
MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection -- reported favora-
bly from said committee, ordered to first report, amended on first
report, ordered to a second report and ordered reprinted, retaining
its place in the order of second report -- recommitted to the Commit-
tee on Consumer Protection in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second
report, ordered to a third reading, passed by Senate and delivered to
the Assembly, recalled, vote reconsidered, restored to third reading,
amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of
third reading
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to human traffick-
ing awareness and training for certain lodging facility employees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 205 to read as follows:
3 § 205. Human trafficking awareness and training. 1. Human trafficking
4 recognition training program. a. For purposes of this section, "lodging
5 facility" shall mean any inn, hotel, motel, motor court or other estab-
6 lishment that provides lodging to transient guests. Such term shall not
7 include an establishment treated as a dwelling unit for the purposes of
8 any state or local law or regulation or an establishment located within
9 a building that has five or less rooms for rent or hire and that is
10 actually occupied as a residence by the proprietor of such establish-
11 ment.
12 b. Every lodging facility shall require all employees who are likely
13 to interact or come into contact with guests to undergo a human traf-
14 ficking recognition training program to provide training in the recogni-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01846-09-2
S. 244--B 2
1 tion of a human trafficking victim as defined in section four hundred
2 eighty-three-aa of the social services law. Such training program shall
3 be established or approved by the division of criminal justice services
4 and the office of temporary and disability assistance in consultation
5 with the New York state interagency task force on human trafficking. The
6 training program may be developed by a federal, state, or non-profit
7 organization, and may be incorporated as part of the lodging facility's
8 existing training programs or may be provided by organizations or
9 providers identified by the commissioner of the division of criminal
10 justice services or the commissioner of the office of temporary and
11 disability assistance, provided that the training includes all of the
12 requirements of this section. Established or approved training programs
13 may be made available through methods including, but not limited to,
14 in-person instruction, electronic and video communication, or online
15 programs.
16 c. Any human trafficking recognition training program established or
17 approved by the division of criminal justice services and the office of
18 temporary and disability assistance in consultation with the New York
19 state interagency task force on human trafficking as required in this
20 section shall address no less than the following issues:
21 (i) the nature of human trafficking;
22 (ii) how human trafficking is defined in law;
23 (iii) how to identify victims of human trafficking; and
24 (iv) who to contact, such as the national human trafficking hotline,
25 which connects victims of human trafficking to:
26 (A) relief and recovery options; and
27 (B) social and legal services.
28 d. The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services and
29 the commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assistance
30 shall make available a list online of established or approved human
31 trafficking recognition programs for use by a lodging facility.
32 e. All new employees required to receive human trafficking recognition
33 training shall receive such training within their first sixty days of
34 employment.
35 f. The training shall take place on the premises of the lodging facil-
36 ity and shall be considered compensable time.
37 2. Record keeping requirements of human trafficking recognition train-
38 ing. Every keeper of each lodging facility shall maintain records indi-
39 cating that each employee required to undergo an established or approved
40 human trafficking recognition training program pursuant to this section
41 has completed such training. Such records shall be kept on file by the
42 lodging facility for the period during which the employee is employed by
43 the lodging facility and for one year after such employment ends.
44 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
45 law; provided however, paragraph d of subdivision 1 of section 205 of
46 the general business law, as added by section one of this act shall take
47 effect immediately; provided further that all applicable current employ-
48 ees of a lodging facility on the effective date of this act shall
49 receive human trafficking recognition training within four months of the
50 effective date of this act.
