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Who cares
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Sponsors
11 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to consumer affairs and protection
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:A10635
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the return of underwear
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prevent the resale of underwear that has been returned to a store unless such underwear is in its sealed unopened original package.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 390-d. Prohibition on the return of underwear.
1. "Underwear" means an article of clothing worn or intended to be worn by individuals on the lower body next to the skin and is known by common parlance as underwear or undergarments.
2. No individual, partnership, corporation, association or other form of business shall accept any underwear for return, unless such underwear is in its sealed unopened original package.
3. Whenever there is a violation of this section an application may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the state of New York to a court of justice having jurisdiction by a special proceed- ing to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court of justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by the court of justice, enjoining and restraining any further violations, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu- tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation. Each sale of returned underwear in violation of this section shall constitute a separate violation. In connection with any such proposed application, the attor- ney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil prac- tice law and rules.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
A recent undercover investigation by Jeff Rossen or WNBC-News has revealed a common trend among employees of high end department stores such as Victoria Secrets, Gap, Macy's and Blooming- dales in relation to returned underwear. Employees have put underwear that has been returned to the store back on their racks for resale. WNBC-News investigators purchased underwear, marked and stained them and returned them to the store only to find the underwear back on the racks,
in some cases this happened immediately following the return of the item. A former sales employee told investigators that some retailers use a process for refreshing underwear that has an odor before returning it to the racks for resale. A doctor interviewed during the investigation spoke of health implications. Bacteria and fecal matter can live on fabric for weeks and disease can be inadvertently transmitted. This is dangerous to the health of all consumers.
Prior legislative history
New
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.