NY State Senate Bill 2019-S4085

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations 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 investigations and government operations
Feb 27, 2019	referred to investigations and government operations

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §297, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S3492
2015-2016: S2380
2017-2018: S2261
2021-2022: S3323
2023-2024: S5767

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for the award of attorney's fees in actions under the human rights law.

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4085

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
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 provid e 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 with out 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.  Further-
more, it is the exact opposite of the federal civil righ ts statutes
upon which the HRL was modeled. Consequently, even though the HRL's
protections of individuals is relatively similar to t hat 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 s o 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 attor-
neys' 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 determinat ion 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
purs uant to this section, the court, in its discretion, may award the
prevailing party costs and reasonable attorney's fees." After twent y-
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:

2017-18: S2261 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

2015-2016: S2380A - Amended and Recommitted to Investigations and
Government Operations

2013-2014: S3492/A8253 - Referred to Investigations and Government Oper-
ations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.  NEW YORK STATE SENATE
INTRODUCER'S MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT submitted in

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4085
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 27, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment 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 ASSEM-
 BLY, 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 attor-
 ney'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 attor-
 ney'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.

                                                            LBD09338-01-9

 S. 4085                             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.

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Senate Bill S4085

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S4085

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Sponsored By

Kevin S. Parker

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S4085 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments