A07830 Summary:

BILL NOA07830A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S05847-A
 
SPONSORRozic
 
COSPNSRPeoples-Stokes, Solages, Simon, Lupardo, Rosenthal, Brindisi, McDonough, Arroyo, Quart, Seawright, Montesano, Mayer, Kavanagh, Ortiz, Moya, Bronson, Hevesi, Skoufis, Linares, Blake, Pichardo, Hyndman, Fahy, DenDekker, Hunter, Cusick, Harris, Davila, Zebrowski
 
MLTSPNSRGlick, Markey
 
Add 219-d, Lab L
 
Grants employee protections conferred by the labor law to cheerleaders.
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A07830 Actions:

BILL NOA07830A
 
05/28/2015referred to labor
09/28/2015amend and recommit to labor
09/28/2015print number 7830a
01/06/2016referred to labor
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A07830 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7830A
 
SPONSOR: Rozic (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to estab- lishing the cheerleaders' fair pay act   PURPOSE: To provide cheerleaders employed by a professional sports team with rights, protections, and benefits.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section I amends the labor law by adding new section 219-d to provide cheerleaders employed by a professional sports team in this state with the same rights, benefits, and protections conferred to its employees who have entered into professional sports-services contracts. The defi- nition of cheerleaders is also provided for the purposes of this section. Section II sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: In April 2014, six former members of the Buffalo Jills Cheerleading Squad ("Jills") filed a wage theft lawsuit against the Buffalo Bills and two for-profit contractors alleging that they were not paid minimum wage for their work. Since that time the Court has allowed the National Foot- ball League (NFL) to be added as a defendant and denied their motion to dismiss based on the NFL Commissioner's approval of contracts providing that the Jills would not be paid for working Buffalo Bills games. The labor issue includes but is not limited to payment in a timely manner, reimbursement for mandatory expenses, fraudulent misclassifica- tion, penalties for minor infractions with unlawful deductions from earnings, and failure to adhere to the notice and record keeping requirements under the New York State Wage Theft Prevention Act. The lawsuit is one of five that have been filed against National Foot- ball League teams such as the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Bucca- neers. The Jills have been able to proceed with their lawsuit because the legality of their contract has been brought into question. According to court documents, the contracts term are illegal, void, and unenforce- able. As reports of minimum wage violations continue to make headlines, it is clear that legal protections must be strengthened to ensure that workers are not being stripped of their basic rights under state law. This bill would address an inequity that fosters worker exploitation and hinders any progress the state makes in the fight for equal pay. If enacted, New York-based professional sports teams utilizing the services of cheerleaders would provide them with the specified rights and benefits afforded to its employees under existing employment laws.   FISCAL IMPACT TO THE STATE: To be determined.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill in the Assembly.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A07830 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7830--A
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 28, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. ROZIC, PEOPLES-STOKES -- 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 establishing the cheer-
          leaders' fair pay act
 
          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 219-d to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 219-d. Application to cheerleaders. 1. A  professional  sports  team
     4  based  in this state that employs professional athletes who have entered
     5  into professional sports-services contracts, as defined  by  subdivision
     6  eight  of  section  eight  hundred ninety-nine-a of the general business
     7  law, and that utilizes the services of cheerleaders during  its  exhibi-
     8  tions  or games, shall provide such cheerleaders with all of the rights,
     9  benefits and protections conferred to its employees by this chapter  for
    10  all services provided for the benefit of the team.
    11    2. For the purposes of this section, "cheerleader" means an individual
    12  who  performs  acrobatics,  dance,  gymnastic exercises, ice skating, or
    13  other performances in promotion of a professional sports franchise iden-
    14  tified in subdivision one of this section.
    15    § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    16  have become a law.
 
 
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08871-03-5
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