STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8201--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
October 24, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL, SEPULVEDA, ENGLEBRIGHT, BENEDETTO,
JAFFEE, MOSLEY, SKOUFIS, KEARNS, DUPREY, MONTESANO, GRAF, RAIA --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, BARCLAY, GLICK, McDONOUGH, RA,
SWEENEY, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Governmental Operations -- recommitted to the Committee on Govern-
mental Operations in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to providing certain
civil rights protections for interns
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 296-c
2 to read as follows:
3 § 296-c. Unlawful discriminatory practices relating to interns. 1. As
4 used in this section, "Intern" means a person who performs work for an
5 employer for the purpose of training under the following circumstances:
6 a. the employer is not committed to hire the person performing the
7 work at the conclusion of the training period;
8 b. the employer and the person performing the work agree that the
9 person performing the work is not entitled to wages for the work
10 performed; and
11 c. the work performed:
12 (1) provides or supplements training that may enhance the employabili-
13 ty of the intern;
14 (2) provides experience for the benefit of the person performing the
15 work;
16 (3) does not displace regular employees; and
17 (4) is performed under the close supervision of existing staff.
18 2. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11709-05-4
A. 8201--A 2
1 a. refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from internship
2 an intern or to discriminate against such intern in terms, conditions or
3 privileges of employment as an intern because of the intern's age, race,
4 creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex,
5 disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, or
6 domestic violence victim status;
7 b. discriminate against an intern in receiving, classifying, disposing
8 or otherwise acting upon applications for internships because of the
9 intern's age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation,
10 military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics,
11 marital status, or domestic violence victim status;
12 c. print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any state-
13 ment, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application
14 for employment as an intern or to make any inquiry in connection with
15 prospective employment, which expresses directly or indirectly, any
16 limitation, specification or discrimination as to age, race, creed,
17 color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disa-
18 bility, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status or domestic
19 violence victim status, or any intent to make any such limitation, spec-
20 ification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational
21 qualification; provided, however, that neither this paragraph nor any
22 provision of this chapter or other law shall be construed to prohibit
23 the department of civil service or the department of personnel of any
24 city containing more than one county from requesting information from
25 applicants for civil service internships or examinations concerning any
26 of the aforementioned characteristics, other than sexual orientation,
27 for the purpose of conducting studies to identify and resolve possible
28 problems in recruitment and testing of members of minority groups to
29 insure the fairest possible and equal opportunities for employment in
30 the civil service for all persons, regardless of age, race, creed,
31 color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disa-
32 bility, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status or domestic
33 violence victim status;
34 d. to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person
35 because he or she has opposed any practices forbidden under this article
36 or because he or she has filed a complaint, testified or assisted in any
37 proceeding under this article; or
38 e. to compel an intern who is pregnant to take a leave of absence,
39 unless the intern is prevented by such pregnancy from performing the
40 activities involved in the job or occupation in a reasonable manner.
41 3. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to:
42 a. engage in unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or
43 other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature to an intern when:
44 (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly
45 a term or condition of the intern's employment;
46 (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by the intern is used
47 as the basis for employment decisions affecting such intern; or
48 (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering
49 with the intern's work performance by creating an intimidating, hostile,
50 or offensive working environment; or
51 b. subject an intern to unwelcome harassment based on age, sex, race,
52 creed, color, sexual orientation, military status, disability, predis-
53 posing genetic characteristics, marital status, domestic violence victim
54 status, or national origin, where such harassment has the purpose or
55 effect of unreasonably interfering with the intern's work performance by
56 creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
A. 8201--A 3
1 4. Nothing in this section shall affect any restrictions upon the
2 activities of persons licensed by the state liquor authority with
3 respect to persons under twenty-one years of age.
4 5. Nothing in this section shall create an employment relationship
5 between an employer and an intern for the purposes of articles six,
6 seven, eighteen or nineteen of the labor law.
7 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 292 of the executive law, as amended by
8 chapter 173 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows:
9 4. The term "unlawful discriminatory practice" includes only those
10 practices specified in sections two hundred ninety-six [and], two
11 hundred ninety-six-a and two hundred ninety-six-c of this article.
12 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
