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

                                    4

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             January 9, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  LITTLE, ROBACH -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to unlawful discriminato-
  ry practice because of familial status

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

  Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 1-a of section 296 of the executive law,
as amended by chapter 803 of the laws of 1975, paragraph (a) of subdivi-
sion 1 as amended by chapter 80 of the laws of 2009, paragraphs (b), (c)
and  (d)  of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 2005,
paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 166 of the laws  of
2000,  paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 as added by chapter 98 of the laws
of 1984 and paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision 1-a as amended by
chapter 106 of the laws of 2003, are amended to read as follows:
  1. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:
  (a) For an employer or licensing agency, because  of  an  individual's
age,  race,  creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military
status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics,  FAMILIAL
STATUS, marital status, or domestic violence victim status, to refuse to
hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment such individual
or  to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms,
conditions or privileges of employment.
  (b) For an employment agency to discriminate  against  any  individual
because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation,
military  status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics,
FAMILIAL STATUS, or marital status, in receiving, classifying, disposing
or otherwise acting upon applications for its services or  in  referring
an applicant or applicants to an employer or employers.
  (c)  For a labor organization, because of the age, race, creed, color,
national origin, sexual orientation, military status,  sex,  disability,
predisposing genetic characteristics, FAMILIAL STATUS, or marital status

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07117-01-5
              

S. 4                                2

of any individual, to exclude or to expel from its membership such indi-
vidual  or  to  discriminate  in  any  way against any of its members or
against any employer or any individual employed by an employer.
  (d)  For  any  employer  or employment agency to print or circulate or
cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publi-
cation, or to use any form of application for employment or to make  any
inquiry  in  connection  with  prospective  employment,  which expresses
directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or  discrimination
as  to  age,  race,  creed,  color, national origin, sexual orientation,
military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic  characteristics,
FAMILIAL STATUS, or marital status, or any intent to make any such limi-
tation,  specification  or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide
occupational qualification; provided, however, that neither  this  para-
graph  nor any provision of this chapter or other law shall be construed
to prohibit the department of civil service or the department of person-
nel of any city containing more than one county from requesting informa-
tion from applicants for civil service examinations  concerning  any  of
the  aforementioned  characteristics, other than sexual orientation, for
the purpose of conducting studies to identify and resolve possible prob-
lems in recruitment and testing of members of minority groups to  insure
the fairest possible and equal opportunities for employment in the civil
service for all persons, regardless of age, race, creed, color, national
origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predispos-
ing genetic characteristics, FAMILIAL STATUS, or marital status.
  (e)  For  any  employer,  labor  organization  or employment agency to
discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person because he
or she has opposed any practices forbidden under this article or because
he or she has filed a complaint, testified or assisted in any proceeding
under this article.
  (f) Nothing in this subdivision shall affect any restrictions upon the
activities of persons  licensed  by  the  state  liquor  authority  with
respect to persons under twenty-one years of age.
  (g)  For  an  employer to compel an employee who is pregnant to take a
leave of absence, unless the employee is  prevented  by  such  pregnancy
from  performing  the  activities involved in the job or occupation in a
reasonable manner.
  1-a. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an  employer,
labor  organization,  employment  agency  or  any joint labor-management
committee controlling apprentice training programs:
  (a) To select persons for an apprentice  training  program  registered
with the state of New York on any basis other than their qualifications,
as determined by objective criteria which permit review;
  (b)  To  deny  to  or withhold from any person because of race, creed,
color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status,  sex,  age,
disability, FAMILIAL STATUS, or marital status, the right to be admitted
to  or  participate  in  a  guidance program, an apprenticeship training
program, on-the-job training program,  executive  training  program,  or
other occupational training or retraining program;
  (c)  To  discriminate against any person in his or her pursuit of such
programs or to discriminate against such a person in the  terms,  condi-
tions  or  privileges  of  such  programs because of race, creed, color,
national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, age, disabil-
ity, FAMILIAL STATUS or marital status;
  (d) To print or circulate or cause to be  printed  or  circulated  any
statement,  advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica-
tion for such programs or to make any inquiry in  connection  with  such

S. 4                                3

program  which  expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, spec-
ification or discrimination as to race, creed, color,  national  origin,
sexual  orientation,  military  status,  sex,  age, disability, FAMILIAL
STATUS  or marital status, or any intention to make any such limitation,
specification or discrimination, unless based on  a  bona  fide  occupa-
tional qualification.
  S  2.  Subdivision 3 of section 296 of the executive law is amended by
adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
  (C) NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION REGARDING  "REASONABLE  ACCOMMODATION"
OR  IN  THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN WHICH ADDED THIS
PARAGRAPH SHALL ALTER, DIMINISH, INCREASE, OR CREATE NEW  OR  ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS  TO  ACCOMMODATE PROTECTED CLASSES PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE
OTHER THAN THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AS EXPLICITLY SET FORTH  IN  SUCH
CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN.
  S  3.  Paragraph  (a) of subdivision 9 of section 296 of the executive
law, as amended by chapter 106 of the laws of 2003, is amended  to  read
as follows:
  (a)  It  shall  be  an  unlawful  discriminatory practice for any fire
department or fire company therein, through any member or members there-
of, officers, board of fire commissioners or other body or office having
power of appointment of volunteer firefighters, directly or  indirectly,
by ritualistic practice, constitutional or by-law prescription, by tacit
agreement  among  its  members,  or otherwise, to deny to any individual
membership in any volunteer fire department or fire company therein,  or
to  expel or discriminate against any volunteer member of a fire depart-
ment or fire  company  therein,  because  of  the  race,  creed,  color,
national  origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex [or], marital
status, OR FAMILIAL STATUS, of such individual.
  S 4. Subdivision 13 of section 296 of the executive law, as amended by
chapter 196 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
  13. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice (i) for any person
to boycott or blacklist, or to refuse to buy  from,  sell  to  or  trade
with, or otherwise discriminate against any person, because of the race,
creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex,
[or] disability, OR FAMILIAL STATUS, of such person, or of such person's
partners,  members,  stockholders, directors, officers, managers, super-
intendents, agents, employees, business associates, suppliers or custom-
ers, or (ii) for any person wilfully to do any act or refrain from doing
any act which enables any such person to take such action. This subdivi-
sion shall not apply to:
  (a) Boycotts connected with labor disputes; or
  (b) Boycotts to protest unlawful discriminatory practices.
  S 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by a court of compe-
tent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,  impair
or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its opera-
tion  to  the  clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part
thereof directly involved in the  controversy  in  which  such  judgment
shall  have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the
legislature that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid
provisions had not been included herein.
  S  6.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.