What's happening
This bill requires courts to award attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs or complainants in human rights law actions, rather than at their discretion.
Why it matters
Shifts Attorney's Fees from Discretionary to Mandatory. Courts and the human rights commissioner are now required (not merely allowed) to award reasonable attorney’s fees to prevailing plaintiffs or complainants, potentially making it financially easier for individuals to pursue discrimination claims.
Applies Broadly to Human Rights Law Cases. The mandatory attorney’s fee provision now applies to all human rights law actions, not just to limited categories like housing or sex-based employment discrimination, thereby expanding access to legal remedies for a wider range of discrimination victims.
Removes Fee-Shifting for Defendants Unless the Division Is an Employer. The bill eliminates the previous provision allowing prevailing defendants to recover attorney’s fees if the case was deemed frivolous, except in rare cases where the Division of Human Rights is sued as an employer. This change reduces the risk for plaintiffs of facing financial penalties if they lose, possibly encouraging more people to bring claims.
May Increase Litigation and Settlements. By guaranteeing attorney’s fee awards for successful plaintiffs, this change could incentivize more attorneys to take on civil rights cases, and could encourage defendants to settle meritorious claims to avoid additional costs.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Award Attorney Fees for Discrimination
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Award Attorney Fees for Discrimination
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Daniel O'Donnell
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2261
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 12, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to providing for awards of attorney's fees in actions under the human rights law
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 297 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 364 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
10. [With respect to all cases of housing discrimination and housing related credit discrimination in an action or proceeding at law under this section or section two hundred ninety-eight of this article, the commissioner or the court may in its discretion award reasonable attorney's fees to any prevailing or substantially prevailing party; and with respect to a claim of employment or credit discrimination where sex is a basis of such discrimination, in] In an action or proceeding at law under this section or section two hundred ninety-eight of this article, the commissioner or the court [may in its discretion] shall award reasonable attorney's fees attributable to such claim to any prevailing [party; provided, however, that a prevailing respondent or defendant in order to recover such reasonable attorney's fees must make a motion requesting such fees and show that the action or proceeding brought was frivolous; and further provided that in a proceeding brought in the division of human rights, the commissioner may only award attorney's fees as part of a final order after a public hearing held pursuant to subdivision four of this section] plaintiff or complainant. In no case shall attorney's fees be awarded to the division, nor shall the division be liable to a prevailing or substantially prevailing party for attorney's fees, except in a case in which the division is a party to the action or the proceeding in the division's capacity as an employer. In
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06685-01-7
S. 2261 2
cases of employment discrimination, a respondent shall only be liable for attorney's fees under this subdivision if the respondent has been found liable for having committed an unlawful discriminatory practice. [In order to find the action or proceeding to be frivolous, the court or the commissioner must find in writing one or more of the following:
(a) the action or proceeding was commenced, used or continued in bad faith, solely to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation or to harass or maliciously injure another; or
(b) the action or proceeding was commenced or continued in bad faith without any reasonable basis and could not be supported by a good faith argument for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law. If the action or proceeding was promptly discontinued when the party or attorney learned or should have learned that the action or proceeding lacked such a reasonable basis, the court may find that the party or the attorney did not act in bad faith.]
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to providing for awards of attorney's fees in actions under the human rights law
Purpose
To provide access to justice to those who cannot afford it in actions or proceedings relating to the state human rights law.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Provides for an award of reasonable attorneys fees. Section 2: Provides the act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
Unlike New York City's Human Rights Law, and unlike federal civil rights law, New York State's Human Rights Law (HRL) does not provide for the possibility of reasonable attorneys fees. The purpose for permitting plaintiff's attorneys) to receive reasonable attorneys fees is to increase the remedies available to victims of discrimination.
As of 2010, 92% of all complaints filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) were for disability discrimination or employment matters, which do not include a right to attorney's fees. Although the HRL provides a right to attorneys fees for housing discrimination cases (see, N.Y. Exec. Law § 297(10)), they only made up 8% of DHR's cases in 2010.
The HRL has the potential to offer New Yorkers civil rights protections beyond federal law, but these rights may not be realized without the provision of attorney's fees. The failure of the HRL to provide fox attorneys fee in non-housing related discrimination cases severely limits the protections afforded under the Human Rights Law. Furthermore, it is the exact opposite of the federal civil rights statutes upon which the HRL was modeled. Consequently, even though the HRL's protections of individuals is relatively similar to that provided by federal civil rights statutes, because it does not provide for an award of attorneys fees, many plaintiffs are unable to pursue the vindication of their rights. That is why when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, Congress added attorneys fees so that enforcement could rely in part upon private litigation to secure compliance.
The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988, is one of the most widely used statutory instruments to award of attorneys' fees in federal civil rights cases. Congress enacted § 1988 to ensure that low-income individuals could effectively access the courts to enforce civil rights laws. The determination of attorneys' fees under § 1988 is also the same analysis used under Title VII, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and other state laws already provide for attorney's fees. Attorneys fees under the NYCHRL have been authorized since 1991 and provide that: in any civil action commenced pursuant to this section, the court, in its discretion, may award the prevailing party costs and reasonable attorney's fees." After twenty-two years of low-income plaintiffs effectively pursuing the vindication of their rights under the NYCHRL, it is time for New York to amend the HRL to extend similarly effective protections to the rest of the state.
Legislative history
2015-2016: S2380A - Amended and Recommitted to Investigations and Government Operations 2013-2014: S3492/A8253 - Referred to Investigations and Government Operations
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.