What's happening
This bill prohibits employers from discriminating or retaliating against employees based on their own or their dependents' reproductive health decisions.
Why it matters
Expands privacy protections. by explicitly prohibiting employers from accessing employees’ or their dependents’ reproductive health information—including choices about specific drugs, devices, or medical services—without the employee’s prior written consent.
Empowers employees. with the right to bring civil lawsuits if their rights are violated, with the potential for damages, back pay, attorneys’ fees, and even double damages unless the employer can show a good faith belief they were following the law.
Mandates transparency. by requiring employers who provide handbooks to include clear notice of these reproductive health rights and remedies, helping ensure employees are informed and can assert their rights.
Strengthens anti-retaliation protections. by defining retaliation broadly (including demotion, suspension, or penalties for complaints or participation in investigations) and making each act of retaliation a separate civil offense, deterring employers from punishing employees who assert their rights.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Reproductive Health Discrimination
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Signed chap.457
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.7
- Substituted for A584
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 56–6
- Ordered to third reading cal.35
- Reported and committed to rules
- Referred to labor
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.
Ban Reproductive Health Discrimination
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Ellen C. Jaffee
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
S. 660 A. 584
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sens. METZGER, BAILEY, CARLUCCI, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, MAYER, MONTGOMERY, PARKER, RIVERA, SANDERS, SAVINO, SERRANO, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE, HEASTIE, DINOWITZ, COOK, GALEF, GOTTFRIED, CAHILL, FAHY, TITUS, MOSLEY, ZEBROWSKI, PICHARDO, SIMON, STECK, SIMOTAS, ARROYO, JOYNER, AUBRY, SEAWRIGHT, ABINANTI, PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, HUNTER, BICHOTTE, JEAN-PIERRE, HYNDMAN, DE LA ROSA, BLAKE, D'URSO, CARROLL, BRONSON, OTIS, BURKE, CRUZ, FALL, FRONTUS, GRIFFIN, JACOBSON, McMAHON, RAYNOR, ROMEO, REYES, SAYEGH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BARRON, BRAUNSTEIN, BUCHWALD, DAVILA, GLICK, LIFTON, LUPARDO, PERRY, RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to discrimination based on an employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 203-e to read as follows:
§ 203-e. Prohibition of discrimination based on an employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making. 1. An employer shall be prohibited from accessing an employee's personal information regarding the employee's or the employee's dependent's reproductive health decision making, including but not limited to, the decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service without the employee's prior informed affirmative written consent.
2. An employer shall not:
(a) discriminate nor take any retaliatory personnel action against an employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02778-01-9
S. 660 2 A. 584
of employment because of or on the basis of the employee's or dependent's reproductive health decision making, including, but not limited to, a decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service; or
(b) require an employee to sign a waiver or other document which purports to deny an employee the right to make their own reproductive health care decisions, including use of a particular drug, device, or medical service.
3. An employer that provides an employee handbook to its employees must include in the handbook notice of employee rights and remedies under this section.
4. An employee may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against an employer alleged to have violated the provisions of this section. In any civil action alleging a violation of this section, the court may:
(a) award damages, including, but not limited to, back pay, benefits and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred to a prevailing plaintiff;
(b) afford injunctive relief against any employer that commits or proposes to commit a violation of the provisions of this section;
(c) order reinstatement; and/or
(d) award liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of the award for damages pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision unless an employer proves a good faith basis to believe that its actions in violation of this section were in compliance with the law.
5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any rights of an employee provided through any other provision of law, common law or collective bargaining unit.
6. Any act of retaliation for an employee exercising any rights granted under this section shall subject an employer to separate civil penalties under this section. For the purposes of this section, retaliation or retaliatory personnel action shall mean discharging, suspending, demoting, or otherwise penalizing an employee for:
(a) making or threatening to make, a complaint to an employer, co-worker, or to a public body, that rights guaranteed under this section have been violated;
(b) causing to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this section; or
(c) providing information to, or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any such violation of a law, rule, or regulation by such employer.
§ 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 labor law, in relation to discrim- ination based on an employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on the employees' or dependent's reproductive health decisions, and to provide remedies for such violations.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends the labor law by adding a new section 203-e to prohibit discrimination based on an employee's or an employee's dependent's reproductive health decision making. This section prohibits an employer from accessing an employee's personal information regarding the employ- ee's or the dependent's reproductive health decision making, including but not limited to, the decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service without the employee's prior informed, affir- mative written consent. s.k1 This section also prohibits discrimination or any retaliatory action against an employee on the basis of the employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making, includ- ing, but not limited to, a decision to use or access a particular drug, device or medical service. In addition, an employer may not require an employee to sign a waiver or document which would deny an employee the right to make their own reproductive health decisions.
Read the full memo (821 words)
The bill provides additional protections for the employee as any employ- er who provides an employee handbook to its employees must include, in the handbook, a notice of employee rights and remedies under this section.
This section also makes clear that the bill does not conflict with any other employee protections provided through any provision of law or collective bargaining unit.
This section also provides that in a civil action alleging a violation of this law, the court may award the plaintiff damages that include back pay, benefits and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. In addition, the court may order reinstatement or afford injunctive relief against an employer in violation of this law. The court may also award the plain- tiff liquidated damages equal to one hundred-percent of the award for damages, unless an employer proves a good faith basis to believe that its actions were in compliance with the law. This section also provides that retaliation against an employee exercising rights granted under this law shall subject an employer to separate civil penalties.
Section 2 establishes the effective date.
Justification
This bill ensures that employees or their dependents are able to make their own reproductive health care decisions without incurring adverse employment consequences. The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) recently required that health insurance plans cover FDA-approved birth control methods without out-of-pocket costs. Some for-profit employers have attempted to prevent employees from accessing this benefit because it conflicts with their personal beliefs. As a result, over 100 federal lawsuits have been filed by employers to deny employees this benefit, including employers operating in New York State. Employers should not be able to discriminate or interfere in employees' personal medical deci- sions.
While federal and state laws have been enacted which demonstrate a commitment to protect individuals against employment discrimination, loopholes exist which leave employees vulnerable to discrimination based on their reproductive health decisions. The Legislature must ensure that the legal loopholes are corrected to ensure that employees' decisions about pregnancy, contraception, and reproductive health are also protected under state law.
This bill is not about insurance coverage and is not intended to require coverage for any health care service, drug or device.
This bill would prevent an employer from discriminating against employ- ees based on reproductive health decisions, regardless of how the employer became aware of those decisions. The Health Insurance Portabil- ity and Accountability Act (HIPAA) does offer a high level of confiden- tiality with regard to medical care and decisions. However, an employer does receive health insurance utilization summaries, which are distrib- uted to each employer on a regular basis. In these reports, personally identifiable information is excluded to comply with privacy protections of HIPAA. However, in some cases, an individual's identity may still be deduced by an employer based on the nature of the service and composi- tion of the insured class reported in the summaries. While a violation of HIPAA would be an actionable violation of privacy, there are other avenues in which an employer may become aware of their employees personal information. It is not unlikely that this information could be unintentionally disclosed by a co-worker, discovered through social media or electronic surveillance currently available, or even disclosed through a personal admission by the employee. Reproductive health care decisions, while usually kept private, should not become s ociety's new version of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Employees must be protected from discrimination based on the reproductive health care decisions they make. This legislation will provide that protection.
Prior legislative history
3/13/18 Passed Assembly 6/12/17 Passed Assembly 6/7/16 Passed Assembly 6/16/15 Passed Assembly 6/18/14 Passed the Assembly.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediate.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.