Provides mandatory leave of absence for employees in private business who are organ or bone marrow donors and insurance reimbursement to employers for wages or salary paid on such leave of absence; defines terms; authorizes a thirty day unpaid leave of absence to allow such employee to serve as an organ donor or bone marrow donor.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1368
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 5, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JEFFRIES, LAVINE, ZEBROWSKI, COLTON, MILLMAN,
ENGLEBRIGHT, GALEF, ORTIZ, MAYERSOHN, MAISEL, HOYT, GUNTHER, PHEFFER,
PERRY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BING, BOYLAND, BRENNAN,
CAHILL, CLARK, CONTE, FARRELL, GLICK, MARKEY, McDONOUGH, McENENY,
REILLY, SWEENEY, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law and the insurance law, in relation to a
leave of absence for employees during testing for, donation of and
recovery from organ donation and providing insurance coverage to
employers who give a paid leave of absence
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 171 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 171. Mandatory leave of absence for bone marrow or organ donation.
4 1. For purposes of this section:
5 a. The term "bone marrow donor" shall mean, a person from whose body
6 bone marrow is taken to be transferred to the body of another person.
7 b. The term "organ" shall mean a human organ that is capable of being
8 transferred from the body of a person to the body of another person.
9 c. The term "organ donor" shall mean a person from whose body an organ
10 is taken to be transferred to the body of another person.
11 d. The term "private employer" shall mean a sole proprietor, corpo-
12 ration, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity with
13 twenty or more employees.
14 2. In addition to any medical, personal, or other paid leave provided
15 by a private employer, the private employer shall grant an employee an
16 unpaid leave of absence to allow the employee to serve as an organ donor
17 or a bone marrow donor if the employee requests a leave of absence for
18 such purpose. The leave of absence requested by the employee shall not
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04660-01-1
A. 1368 2
1 exceed thirty days. The employer may require verification by a physician
2 for the purpose and length of each leave requested by the employee to
3 donate bone marrow or serve as an organ donor.
4 3. An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting
5 or obtaining a leave of absence as provided by this section for the
6 purpose of undergoing a medical procedure to donate bone marrow or serve
7 as an organ donor.
8 § 2. Subsection (c) of section 3216 of the insurance law is amended by
9 adding a new paragraph 15 to read as follows:
10 (15) It contains provisions which provide that the insurer of the
11 organ or bone marrow recipient shall provide coverage which reimburses
12 the donor's private employer for wages or salary paid by the private
13 employer to the donor while he or she was on a paid leave of absence to
14 serve as an organ or bone marrow donor as described in section one
15 hundred seventy-one of the labor law.
16 § 3. Subsection (a) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by
17 adding a new paragraph 17 to read as follows:
18 (17) It contains provisions which provide that the insurer of the
19 organ or bone marrow recipient shall provide coverage which reimburses
20 the donor's private employer for wages or salary paid by the private
21 employer to the donor while he or she was on a paid leave of absence to
22 serve as an organ or bone marrow donor as described in section one
23 hundred seventy-one of the labor law.
24 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
25 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
