STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5631--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEINSTEIN, SIMOTAS, DINOWITZ, GLICK, CAHILL,
COLTON, TAYLOR, GRIFFIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BARRON,
CYMBROWITZ, D'URSO, ENGLEBRIGHT, GALEF, GOTTFRIED, JAFFEE, LUPARDO,
MAGNARELLI, NIOU, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to retaliatory personnel
actions by employers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 740 of the labor
2 law, as added by chapter 660 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (a) "Employee" means an individual who performs services for and under
5 the control and direction of an employer for wages or other remuneration
6 or natural persons employed as independent contractors to carry out work
7 in furtherance of an employer's business enterprise who are not them-
8 selves employers.
9 § 2. The opening paragraph and paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of
10 section 740 of the labor law, the opening paragraph as added by chapter
11 660 of the laws of 1984 and paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 442 of
12 the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
13 An employer shall not take any retaliatory personnel action against an
14 employee, whether or not within the scope of the employee's job duties,
15 because such employee does any of the following:
16 (a) discloses, or threatens to disclose to a supervisor or to a public
17 body an activity, policy or practice of the employer [that] which the
18 employee reasonably believes is in violation of law, rule or regulation
19 [which violation creates and presents] or which the employee reasonably
20 believes poses a substantial and specific danger to the public health or
21 safety, or which constitutes health care fraud;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00918-03-9
A. 5631--A 2
1 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 740 of the labor law,
2 as added by chapter 660 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (c) It shall be a defense to any action brought pursuant to this
5 section that the personnel action was predicated upon grounds other than
6 the employee's exercise of any rights protected by this section. [It
7 shall also be a defense that the individual was an independent contrac-
8 tor.]
9 § 4. Paragraphs (b), (d) and (e) of subdivision 5 of section 740 of
10 the labor law, as added by chapter 660 of the laws of 1984, are amended
11 to read as follows:
12 (b) the reinstatement of the employee to the same position held before
13 the retaliatory personnel action, or to an equivalent position, or front
14 pay in lieu thereof;
15 (d) the compensation for lost wages, benefits and other remuneration;
16 [and]
17 (e) the payment by the employer of reasonable costs, disbursements,
18 and attorney's fees; and
19 (f) the payment by the employer of punitive damages, if the violation
20 was willful, malicious or wanton.
21 § 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
22 have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the
23 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
24 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
25 to be made by the commissioner of labor of the state of New York on or
26 before such effective date.
