BILL NUMBER: S7303

SPONSOR: KRUEGER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting an employ-
er, licensing agency or employment agency from requesting or requiring
that a prospective employee disclose his or her age, date of birth or
date of graduation from an educational institution on an initial employ-
ment application or during an interview, except in the case of a bona
fide occupational qualification or need

 
PURPOSE:

Prohibits an employer, licensing agency or employment agency from
requesting or requiring that a prospective employee disclose his or her
age, date of birth or date of graduation

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Subdivision 3-a of section 296 of the executive law by
              

adding a new paragraph (a-1)

Section 2: Establishes the effective date and amends and/or repeals any
rule of regulation necessary for the implantation of this act.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Over the past decade, the number of New Yorkers aged 65 and over
increased by 26 percent, making up a larger share of the state's popu-
lation than ever before. (Center for an Urban Future February 2019
report New York's Older Adult Population is Booming Statewide.)  After
65, some older adults want to continue working, and some need to work to
make ends meet. However, age discrimination is a significant factor in
preventing older adults from finding jobs, and staying employed. Older
adult advocates and legal experts familiar with age discrimination liti-
gation believe prohibiting employers from asking about a job applicant's
age and graduation dates during the hiring process are important first
steps to eliminating age discrimination in hiring. A 2018 study of age
discrimination by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
stressed the importance of hiring and retention practices in addressing
age discrimination.

Asking someone's age is the easiest way to discriminate against hiring
older people. Age is just a number, and does not predicate if a person
is qualified for a job and has the requisite skills needed to perform a
job well. Furthermore, since an increasing number of job applications
are submitted online, asking for a date of birth (DOB) or graduation
dates allows employers to easily identify and omit older applicants from
the qualified applicant pool if they wish to do so.

The state of Connecticut is the first state to pass a law prohibiting
employers asking about age or graduation date on job applications. It
should be noted that Connecticut had already prohibited asking appli-
cants about age during a job interview. In New York State employers are
permitted to ask applicants about their age during a job interview. The
proposed amendment to the NYS Human Rights Law would prohibit asking
questions about an applicant's age during the interview process, as well
as on the job application.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.