Prohibits the employment of a sex offender in any position having substantial contact with children; defines "substantial contact" as any activity involving children; establishes criminal penalties for violation of statutory provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4897
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 9, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. M. MILLER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to prohibiting sex
offenders from any position involving substantial contact with chil-
dren
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 168-w of the correction law, as relettered by chap-
2 ter 604 of the laws of 2005, is relettered section 168-x and a new
3 section 168-w is added to read as follows:
4 § 168-w. Sex offenders shall not be employed in a position involving
5 substantial contact with children. 1. No sex offender shall apply for or
6 accept a position which involves substantial contact with children. Such
7 position shall include any job, task or occupation, which by its nature,
8 requires a person to be in substantial contact with children in the
9 regular performance of his or her duties or dealings in such position.
10 This section shall also apply to any person seeking a permit or permis-
11 sion to execute any activity or performance that would present a direct
12 contact with children.
13 2. The definition of "position" as used in this section, shall apply
14 to any person seeking employment either paid or unpaid, any person seek-
15 ing to volunteer, or any person seeking a permit or permission that
16 would present a substantial contact with children.
17 3. Examples of such employment shall include, but shall not be limited
18 to:
19 a. Any position in a school including teachers, teacher-aides, admin-
20 istrators, assistants, cafeteria workers, janitors, nurses or any other
21 person working in a school that would have contact with the children
22 attending said school;
23 b. Any position in a child-care facility;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08237-01-1
A. 4897 2
1 c. Any recreational position such as a coach, boy scout or girl scout
2 leader, camp counselor, lifeguard, instructor or any other recreational
3 area that would present a substantial contact with children;
4 d. Any position in a park, playground, amusement park, pool or any
5 other facility or area where children have a propensity to inhabit;
6 e. Any store or restaurant that is specifically targeted towards chil-
7 dren such as a toy store or children's theme restaurant;
8 f. Any position wherein a person would be employed in an area that
9 specifically is targeted towards children such as an ice cream truck
10 operator;
11 g. Any person applying for a permit or permission that would grant
12 said person the ability to carry out any activity or action that is
13 directed towards or would involve substantial contact with children.
14 4. Employers, organizations and government entities shall have access
15 to the statewide central registry of child abuse and maltreatment for
16 the purpose of performing a background check for any convictions of
17 sexual abuse of a child. Every employer, organization and government
18 entity shall check any potential employees seeking to assume a position
19 that will be in substantial contact with children against both the
20 statewide central registry of child abuse and maltreatment and the
21 registered sex offenders database to ascertain if said person has a
22 conviction for sexual abuse of a child.
23 5. "Substantial contact with children" as used in this section means
24 working with children, having access to children, having opportunity to
25 be alone with children, spending time with children, performing for
26 children or any other activity that involves children.
27 6. a. Any sex offender who applies for or accepts employment in
28 violation of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor upon
29 the first conviction thereof, and upon a second or subsequent conviction
30 thereof shall be guilty of a class D felony.
31 b. Any employer who knowingly employs a sex offender in violation of
32 this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
33 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
34 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
