Prohibits falsely impersonating an employee organization or an employee representative with the intent to undermine or interfere with the operations of such employee organization or to otherwise negatively impact an employee organization; provides that an employee organization or representative may bring a civil action to obtain damages for being falsely impersonated.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9577
IN SENATE
March 25, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to prohibiting false-
ly impersonating an employee organization or employee organization
representative
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section
2 216 to read as follows:
3 § 216. Falsely impersonating an employee organization or employee
4 organization representative. 1. Definitions. As used in this section,
5 the following terms shall have the following meanings:
6 (a) "Falsely impersonating an employee organization or employee organ-
7 ization representative" shall mean the knowing use of fraud or misrepre-
8 sentation to make and disseminate a verbal, written, or electronic
9 communication, with the intent to undermine or interfere with the oper-
10 ations of an employee organization, or otherwise negatively impact an
11 employee organization, and that purports to be authorized or otherwise
12 approved by such employee organization or employee organization repre-
13 sentative but that has not been authorized or approved by such employee
14 organization or employee organization representative.
15 (b) "Employee organization representative" shall mean any person
16 authorized by an employee organization, pursuant to its constitution,
17 bylaws or other internal rules or procedures, to act on behalf of such
18 employee organization.
19 2. No person shall falsely impersonate an employee organization or an
20 employee organization representative.
21 3. (a) An employee organization or an employee organization represen-
22 tative alleging a violation of this section may bring a civil action in
23 a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain damages.
24 (b) In addition to and not in lieu of any other damages that may be
25 claimed, an employee organization or an employee organization represen-
26 tative shall receive statutory damages in an amount of fifteen thousand
27 dollars per incident in any action in which such employee organization
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15363-01-6
S. 9577 2
1 or employee organization representative establishes that the defendant
2 has falsely impersonated an employee organization or an employee organ-
3 ization representative in violation of this section.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
