Senate Bill S128

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Declares agreements exempting employers from liability for negligence related to the COVID-19 pandemic void and unenforceable

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary 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

2021-S128 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A390
Current Committee:
Senate Judiciary
Law Section:
General Obligations Law
Laws Affected:
Add §5-322.4, Gen Ob L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:
S8587, A10838

2021-S128 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Declares agreements exempting employers from liability for negligence related to the COVID-19 pandemic void and unenforceable.

2021-S128 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S128 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    128
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LIU  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in  relation  to  declaring
   agreements  exempting  employers from liability for negligence related
   to the COVID-19 pandemic void and unenforceable
 
   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 5-322.4 to read as follows:
   § 5-322.4. AGREEMENTS EXEMPTING EMPLOYERS FROM  LIABILITY  FOR  NEGLI-
 GENCE  RELATED  TO  THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC VOID AND UNENFORCEABLE. 1. ANY
 PROVISION IN ANY CONTRACT, AGREEMENT OR UNDERSTANDING  RELATING  TO  THE
 EMPLOYMENT, HIRING OR RETAINING OF THE SERVICES OF ANY PERSON, INCLUDING
 BUT  NOT LIMITED TO EMPLOYEES, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND INTERNS, THAT
 EXEMPTS THE EMPLOYER OR HIRING PARTY  FROM  LIABILITY  FOR  DAMAGES  FOR
 PERSONAL  INJURY  OR  DEATH  CAUSED  BY OR RESULTING FROM THE EMPLOYER'S
 NEGLIGENCE IN CONNECTION WITH THE EMPLOYER'S OR HIRING PARTY'S  HANDLING
 OF  MEASURES RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE VOID
 AS AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY AND WHOLLY UNENFORCEABLE.
   2. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT PRECLUDE  AN  EMPLOYER  OR
 HIRING  PARTY  FROM REQUIRING INDEMNIFICATION FOR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
 PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF A
 PARTY OTHER THAN THE EMPLOYEE, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AND INTERN, WHETH-
 ER OR NOT THE EMPLOYER OR HIRING PARTY IS PARTIALLY NEGLIGENT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03363-01-1

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.