STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7234 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY April 12, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting employers from discriminating against victims of domestic violence; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 34 of section 292 of the executive law is 2 REPEALED and a new subdivision 34 is added to read as follows: 3 34. The term "victim of domestic violence" means a person who is a 4 victim of an act which would constitute a violation of the penal law, 5 including, but not limited to, an act defined in subdivision one of 6 section eight hundred twelve of the family court act, where such act is 7 or has alleged to have been committed by a family or household member as 8 defined in subdivision one of section eight hundred twelve of the family 9 court act. 10 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 296 of the executive 11 law, as amended by chapter 365 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read 12 as follows: 13 (a) For an employer or licensing agency, because of an individual's 14 age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military 15 status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial 16 status, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence 17 [~~victim status~~], to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge 18 from employment such individual or to discriminate against such individ- 19 ual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment. 20 § 3. Section 296 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 21 subdivision 20 to read as follows: 22 20. (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employ- 23 er or licensing agency, because of any individual's status as a victim 24 of domestic violence, to refuse to hire or employ or license or to bar EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02142-01-7

A. 7234 2 1 or to discharge from employment such individual or to discriminate 2 against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or priv- 3 ileges of employment. 4 (b) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer or 5 employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circu- 6 lated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of 7 application for employment or to make any inquiry in connection with 8 prospective employment which expresses, directly or indirectly, any 9 limitation, specification or discrimination as to status as a victim of 10 domestic violence, or any intent to make any such limitation, specifica- 11 tion or discrimination; provided, however, that no provision of this 12 subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the employer from making any 13 inquiry or obtaining information for the purpose of providing assistance 14 to, or a reasonable accommodation in accordance with the provisions of 15 this subdivision to, a victim of domestic violence. 16 (c)(1) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer 17 to refuse to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee who is 18 known by the employer to be a victim of domestic violence, limited to 19 those accommodations set forth in subparagraph two of this paragraph, 20 when such employee must be absent from work for a reasonable time, 21 unless such absence would cause an undue hardship to the employer as set 22 forth in subparagraph three of this paragraph, provided, however that 23 the employer may require an employee to charge any time off pursuant to 24 this section against any leave with pay ordinarily granted, where avail- 25 able, unless otherwise provided for in a collective bargaining agreement 26 or existing employee handbook or policy, and any such absence that 27 cannot be charged may be treated as leave without pay. An employee who 28 must be absent from work in accordance with subparagraph two of this 29 paragraph shall be entitled to the continuation of any health insurance 30 coverage provided by the employer, to which the employee is otherwise 31 entitled during any such absence. 32 (2) An employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation to 33 an employee who is a victim of domestic violence who must be absent from 34 work for a reasonable time, in accordance with the provisions of subpar- 35 agraph one of this paragraph, limited to the following: 36 (i) Seeking medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence 37 including for a child who is a victim of domestic violence, provided 38 that the employee is not the perpetrator of the domestic violence 39 against the child; or 40 (ii) Obtaining services from a domestic violence shelter, program, or 41 rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence; or 42 (iii) Obtaining psychological counseling related to an incident or 43 incidents of domestic violence, including for a child who is a victim of 44 domestic violence, provided that the employee is not the perpetrator of 45 the domestic violence against the child; or 46 (iv) Participating in safety planning and taking other actions to 47 increase safety from future incidents of domestic violence, including 48 temporary or permanent relocation; or 49 (v) Obtaining legal services, assisting in the prosecution of the 50 offense, or appearing in court in relation to the incident or incidents 51 of domestic violence. 52 (3) An employer is required to provide a reasonable accommodation for 53 an employee's absence in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs 54 one and two of this paragraph unless the employer can demonstrate that 55 the employee's absence would constitute an undue hardship to the employ-

A. 7234 3 1 er. A determination of whether such an absence will constitute an undue 2 hardship shall include consideration of factors such as: 3 (i) The overall size of the business, program or enterprise with 4 respect to the number of employees, number and type of facilities, and 5 size of budget; and 6 (ii) The type of operation in which the business, program or enter- 7 prise is engaged, including the composition and structure of the work- 8 force. 9 (4) An employee who must be absent from work in accordance with the 10 provisions of subparagraph one of this paragraph shall provide the 11 employer with reasonable advance notice of the employee's absence, 12 unless such advance notice is not feasible. 13 (5) An employee who must be absent from work in accordance with the 14 provisions of subparagraph one of this paragraph and who cannot feasibly 15 give reasonable advance notice of the absence in accordance with subpar- 16 agraph four of this paragraph must, within a reasonable time after the 17 absence, provide a certification to the employer when requested by the 18 employer. 19 Such certification shall be in the form of: 20 (i) A police report indicating that the employee was a victim of 21 domestic violence; 22 (ii) A court order protecting or separating the employee from the 23 perpetrator of an act of domestic violence; 24 (iii) Other evidence from the court or prosecuting attorney that the 25 employee appeared in court; or 26 (iv) Documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence 27 advocate, health care provider, or counselor that the employee was 28 undergoing counseling or treatment for physical or mental injuries or 29 abuse resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence. 30 (6) Where an employee has a physical or mental disability resulting 31 from an incident or series of incidents of domestic violence, such 32 employee shall be treated in the same manner as an employee with any 33 other disability, pursuant to the provisions of this section which 34 provide that discrimination and refusal to provide reasonable accommo- 35 dation of disability are unlawful discriminatory practices. 36 (d) To the extent allowed by law, employers shall maintain the confi- 37 dentiality of any information regarding an employee's status as a victim 38 of domestic violence. 39 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 40 have become a law.

Relates to domestic violence; repealer

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