New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 

A06790 Summary:

A06790 Actions:

A06790 Floor Votes:

A06790 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6790--A
                                                                Cal. No. 322
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 18, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BRAUNSTEIN, ABINANTI, GUNTHER, MOSLEY, MARKEY,
          GOTTFRIED, WEPRIN,  MONTESANO,  ROSENTHAL,  MILLMAN,  COLTON,  JAFFEE,
          CAHILL,  O'DONNELL, PEOPLES-STOKES, ROBERTS, SCARBOROUGH, STECK, RAIA,
          PERRY, HOOPER, MOYA, SKOUFIS, SIMOTAS, OTIS, RODRIGUEZ --  Multi-Spon-

          sored  by  --  M.  of  A. ARROYO, BRENNAN, CLARK, COOK, CROUCH, GALEF,
          GLICK, JACOBS, McDONOUGH, SCHIMEL, SIMANOWITZ, STEC,  TITONE,  WEISEN-
          BERG  --  read  once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs
          and Protection -- advanced to a third  reading,  amended  and  ordered
          reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the general business law, in relation to the sale and
          use of employment information
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.   Section 380-u of the general business law, as relettered
     2  by chapter 63 of the laws of 2006, is relettered section 380-v and a new
     3  section 380-u is added to read as follows:
     4    § 380-u. Sale and use of employment  information.    (a)  No  consumer

     5  reporting  agency  or  any  subsidiary  thereof shall sell or resell, or
     6  offer for sale or resale or distribute  employment  information  to  any
     7  principal  creditor,  as  that  term  is defined in subdivision three of
     8  section six hundred of this chapter, or  other  debt  collector  without
     9  verifying  that  such sale, resale, or distribution was disclosed to the
    10  consumer to whom such employment information  pertains  without  written
    11  consumer  consent in a separate stand-alone document.  Employment infor-
    12  mation shall include, but not be limited to, payroll and earnings infor-
    13  mation, hours worked, consumer history and health insurance information.
    14    (b) Such disclosure and consumer consent shall be given in a separate,

    15  stand-alone document and consent shall be limited to the particular  use
    16  or transaction for which consent is given.
    17    (c)  Wherever  there shall be a violation of this section, an applica-
    18  tion may be made by the attorney general in the name of  the  people  of
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08805-10-3
        A. 6790--A                          2
 
     1  the  state  of  New  York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a
     2  special proceeding to issue  an  injunction,  and  upon  notice  to  the
     3  defendant  of not less than five days, to enjoin or restrain the contin-

     4  uance  of  such violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of
     5  the court or justice that the defendant  has,  in  fact,  violated  this
     6  section, an injunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining
     7  and  restraining any further violation, without requiring proof that any
     8  person has, in fact, been  injured  or  damaged  thereby.  In  any  such
     9  proceeding,  the  court  may  make allowances to the attorney general as
    10  provided in paragraph six of subdivision  (a)  of  section  eighty-three
    11  hundred  three  of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu-
    12  tion. Whenever the court  shall  determine  that  a  violation  of  this
    13  section  has  occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more

    14  than two thousand dollars for each violation.  In  connection  with  any
    15  such  proposed  application,  the attorney general is authorized to take
    16  proof and make a determination  of  the  relevant  facts  and  to  issue
    17  subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
    18    (d) In addition to any right of action granted to the attorney general
    19  pursuant  to  this section, any person who has been injured by reason of
    20  any violation of this section may bring an action in his or her own name
    21  to enjoin such unlawful act or practice, an action to recover his or her
    22  actual damages or one thousand dollars, whichever is  greater,  or  both
    23  such  actions.  The  court  may, in its discretion, award the prevailing

    24  plaintiff in such action an additional award not to exceed five thousand
    25  dollars, if  the  court  finds  the  defendant  willfully  violated  the
    26  provisions  of  this  section. The court may award reasonable attorneys'
    27  fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    28    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    29  it shall have become a law.