Assembly Bill A9991

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Establishes restrictions on consumer and employment contracts

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

Do you support this bill?

Please enter your contact information

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.
Actions

2015-A9991 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Rules
Law Section:
General Obligations Law
Laws Affected:
Add ยง5-303, Gen Ob L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A2485
2019-2020: A852
2021-2022: A5618
2023-2024: A4334

2015-A9991 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes restrictions on consumer and employment contracts.

2015-A9991 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9991

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               May 2, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. SIMOTAS -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Judiciary

AN ACT to  amend  the  general  obligations  law,  in  relation  to  the
  provisions of consumer and employment contracts

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The general obligations law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
section 5-303 to read as follows:
  S  5-303.  CONSUMER AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. 1. FINDINGS. OBSCURE AND
OVERLY COMPLEX LANGUAGE IN CONSUMER AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS  INTERFERES
WITH  EMPLOYEES'  AND CONSUMERS' ABILITY TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL ASSENT TO
THEIR CONSUMER AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. TO ENSURE THAT PRIVATE  PARTIES
COMPREHEND  THE  MATERIAL TERMS OF THE CONSUMER AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
INTO WHICH THEY ENTER, THIS SECTION REQUIRES THAT MERCHANTS AND  EMPLOY-
ERS  IN  DESIGNATED  FORMS  OF  CONTRACTS  ADEQUATELY DISCLOSE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS.
  2. NON-CONFORMING COVERAGE.  THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO THE CONTRACTS
DESIGNATED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS  SECTION  THAT  MEET  ANY  OF  THE
FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
  (A)  AN EMPLOYMENT OR CONSUMER CONTRACT NOT WRITTEN IN PLAIN LANGUAGE,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 5-702 OF THIS ARTICLE, THAT A REASONABLE CONSUMER OR
EMPLOYEE WOULD UNDERSTAND; OR
  (B) IF A CONSUMER CONTRACT, ALL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS ARE NOT FOUND IN
A SINGLE DOCUMENT.
  3. COVERED CONTRACTS. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION  SHALL  APPLY  TO
THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF CONTRACTS:
  (A) CONSUMER CONTRACTS; AND
  (B) EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS.
  4.  RIGHTS  WHEN  A  COVERED CONTRACT IS NON-CONFORMING. A CONSUMER OR
EMPLOYEE MAY SEEK A COURT ORDER REFORMING ANY CONTRACT COVERED  BY  THIS
SECTION.  SUCH REFORMED AGREEMENT SHALL REFLECT THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE
PARTIES, AND THE COURT MAY EXCLUDE TERMS NOT WRITTEN IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR
FOUND IN A SEPARATE DOCUMENT.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14413-03-6

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.