NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2218

Senate Bill S2218

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for prospective employers to make certain inquiries relating to criminal convictions

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction 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

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to crime victims, crime and correction
Jan 23, 2019	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

2019-S2218 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:: Correction Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§750 & 752, Cor L; amd §296, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S5428
2013-2014: S3386
2015-2016: S2225
2017-2018: S3801
2021-2022: S3389
2023-2024: S1423

2019-S2218 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any prospective employer to make an inquiry about, or to act upon adversely to the individual involved based upon, any criminal conviction of such individual unless such employer first makes a conditional offer of employment to such individual.

2019-S2218 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2218

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law and the executive law, in relation to
establishing that it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for prospec-
tive employers to make certain inquiries relating to criminal
convictions

 
PURPOSE:

This bill will curtail unlawful discriminatory practices against persons
with criminal records and help to ensure that employers abide by the
provisions of Article 23-A of the correction law.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the correction law to change the definition
of "direct relationship" and provide that in order to deny a person
employment or a license based on a criminal record, there must be a

connection between the specific duties or responsibilities of the job or
license and the nature of the criminal conviction and such connection
must create an unreasonable risk to property or public safety.

Section 2 of the bill amends the correction law to provide that no
employer may ask about a criminal conviction unless such employer first
makes a conditional offer of employment. Such offer could then be with-
drawn in accordance with Article 23-A of the correction law, where there
is a direct relationship between the employment and the conviction, and
hiring the person would threaten public safety or property.

Section 3 of the bill amends the human rights law to include the amended
language of the correction law.

Section 4 of the bill provides that the act shall take effect On the
ninetieth day after it shall have become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Upon return to the community following incarceration, individuals are
expected to find and maintain gainful employment. Finding-effective ways
to manage their reentry into the workforce is critical-to promoting
public safety and curbing recidivism rates and the high costs of re-in-
carceration. Unfortunately, many employers maintain blanket barriers to
employment based solely on criminal conviction records even when the
conviction may be completely unrelated to the job sought and no threat
to the public or property is present.

Article 23-A of the correction law prohibits discrimination against a
person with a criminal record unless the duties or responsibilities of
the job or license sought are directly related to the conviction.  This
bill will help to ensure that employers abide by the standards of Arti-
cle 23A and do not automatically disqualify applicants based only on a
criminal conviction.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2015-16: S.2225 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction
2017-18: S.3301 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Successful re-entry and re-integration of formerly incarcerated individ-
uals will increase state revenues through the inclusion of thousands of
able-bodied, "taxpaying citizens" to the state's workforce; additional
savings to the state will inure from a reduction in costs associated
with recidivism, re-incarceration and social services.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.

2019-S2218 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2218
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 23, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,  Crime  and
   Correction
 
 AN ACT to amend the correction law and the executive law, in relation to
   establishing  that  it  is  an  unlawful  discriminatory  practice for
   prospective employers to make certain inquiries relating  to  criminal
   convictions
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 750  of  the  correction  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  284  of  the  laws  of 2007, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (3) "Direct  relationship"  means  that  THERE  IS  AN  IMMEDIATE  AND
 SUBSTANTIAL  CONNECTION  BETWEEN  the  nature  of [criminal conduct] THE
 CRIME for which the person was convicted [has a direct  bearing  on  his
 fitness  or ability to perform one or more of] AND the duties or respon-
 sibilities necessarily related to the license, opportunity,  or  job  in
 question  AND SUCH CONNECTION WOULD CREATE AN UNREASONABLE RISK TO PROP-
 ERTY OR TO THE SAFETY OR WELFARE OF SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS OR THE  GENERAL
 PUBLIC UPON THE ISSUANCE OR CONTINUATION OF A LICENSE OR THE GRANTING OR
 CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF SUCH PERSON.
   §  2.  Section 752 of the correction law, as amended by chapter 284 of
 the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
   § 752. Unfair discrimination against persons previously  convicted  of
 one  or  more  criminal offenses prohibited.   1. No application for any
 license or employment, and no employment or license held by an  individ-
 ual,  to  which  the provisions of this article are applicable, shall be
 denied or acted upon adversely by reason of the individual's having been
 previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses, or by reason of a
 finding of lack of "good moral character" when  such  finding  is  based
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05470-01-9

 S. 2218                             2
 
 upon  the  fact that the individual has previously been convicted of one
 or more criminal offenses, unless[:
   (1)]  there is a direct relationship between one or more of the previ-
 ous criminal offenses and the specific license or employment  sought  or
 held by the individual[; or
   (2)  the  issuance  or  continuation of the license or the granting or
 continuation of the employment would involve  an  unreasonable  risk  to
 property  or  to  the  safety  or welfare of specific individuals or the
 general public].
   2.  NO PUBLIC OR PRIVATE EMPLOYER TO  WHICH  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS
 ARTICLE  ARE  APPLICABLE,  UNLESS  SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED OR PERMITTED BY
 STATUTE, SHALL MAKE ANY INQUIRY ABOUT, WHETHER IN ANY FORM  OF  APPLICA-
 TION  OR  OTHERWISE,  OR  ACT  UPON ADVERSELY TO THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED
 BASED UPON, ANY CRIMINAL  CONVICTION  OF  SUCH  INDIVIDUAL  UNLESS  SUCH
 EMPLOYER  FIRST MAKES A CONDITIONAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT TO SUCH INDIVID-
 UAL. SUCH CONDITIONAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT MAY ONLY SUBSEQUENTLY BE WITH-
 DRAWN ON THE BASIS OF A CRIMINAL  CONVICTION  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THIS
 ARTICLE WHERE SUCH CONVICTION BEARS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO THE SPECIF-
 IC POSITION BEING OFFERED.
   §  3.  Section  296  of  the  executive law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 15-a to read as follows:
   15-A. IT SHALL BE AN UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE, UNLESS  SPECIF-
 ICALLY  REQUIRED  OR PERMITTED BY STATUTE, FOR ANY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER,
 INCLUDING  ANY  PERSON,  AGENCY,  BUREAU,  CORPORATION  OR  ASSOCIATION,
 INCLUDING  THE  STATE AND ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THEREOF, TO MAKE ANY
 INQUIRY ABOUT, WHETHER IN ANY FORM OF APPLICATION OR  OTHERWISE,  OR  TO
 ACT  UPON  ADVERSELY TO THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED BASED UPON, ANY CRIMINAL
 CONVICTION OF SUCH INDIVIDUAL UNLESS SUCH EMPLOYER FIRST MAKES A  CONDI-
 TIONAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT TO SUCH INDIVIDUAL. SUCH CONDITIONAL OFFER OF
 EMPLOYMENT MAY ONLY SUBSEQUENTLY BE WITHDRAWN ON THE BASIS OF A CRIMINAL
 CONVICTION  IN  ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE TWENTY-THREE-A OF THE CORRECTION
 LAW WHERE SUCH CONVICTION BEARS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP, AS SUCH  TERM  IS
 DEFINED  IN  SUBDIVISION  THREE  OF  SECTION  SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY OF THE
 CORRECTION LAW, TO THE SPECIFIC POSITION BEING OFFERED.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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