NY State Senate Bill 2021-S6621

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to consumer protection
May 10, 2021	referred to consumer protection

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A657
Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Rel §380-v to be §380-w, add §380-v, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S7202, A6790
2015-2016: S3795, S6796, A1071
2017-2018: S6577, A859
2019-2020: S3970, A431
2023-2024: S5666

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Bans the sale of employment data reports without written consumer consent; provides such employment data reports shall include, but not be limited to, payroll and earnings information, hours worked, consumer history and health insurance information.

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6621

SPONSOR: SAVINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the sale and
use of employment information

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Bans the sale of employment information, including payroll and earnings
information, hours worked, consumer history and health insurance infor-
mation.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Section 380-v of the article is re-lettered section 380-w,
and a new section 380-v is added.

Section 2: Section 380-v(a) is added to ban the sale of employment
information by consumer reporting agencies without verifying that such
sale was disclosed to consumer in a separate stand-alone document, This

section also adds what is included in employment information, such as
payroll and earning information, hours an employee has worked, consumer
history and health insurance information.

Section 380-v(b) requires that disclosure and consumer consent must be
given in a separate, stand-alone document, and the consent is limited to
the particular use or transaction for which the consent is given.

Section 380-v(c) charges the Attorney General with the enforcement of
this law. This section also includes a civil penalty of 2,000 dollars
for each violation of this statute to be imposed on the consumer report-
ing agencies.

Section 380-v(d) allows for a private cause of action to be commenced by
any person injured by the violation of this section. Additionally, the
individual injured may recover actual damages and one thousand dollars.
The court may award the plaintiff an additional award not to exceed
$5,000 if the court finds that the defendant willfully violated the
provisions of this section. The court may also award reasonable attor-
neys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

Section 380-v(e) this legislation does not limit any other rights other-
wise available to the consumer.

Section 3: An effective date of 180 days after signed into law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The "Work Number" provides employment data reports, and is operated by
TALX Corporation, which is owned by the credit reporting agency Equifax.
The "Work Number" permits companies to outsource payroll and human
resource functions and maintains information on at least 30% of the U.S.
working population.

According to an NBC News report, Equifax has been selling employment
reports, including detailed health insurance and payroll information, to
third parties, such as debt collectors and other financial services
corporations. This is an invasion of consumers' and employees' privacy.
Moreover, many employees are unaware of this sale of their detailed
payroll information to third parties. This legislation would prohibit
consumer reporting agencies from selling employment data reports to
third parties.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.6796 of 2016 - New Senate Bill for 2016 Session - referred to Senate
Consumer Affairs Committee, passed Assembly
S.6577 of 2017 - referred to Rules, passed Assembly
S.6577 of 2018 - referred to Consumer Affairs, passed Assembly
S3970 of 2019-20 Session - referred to Consumer Affairs

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6621
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 10, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to  the  sale  and
   use of employment information
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Section 380-v of the general business law,  as  relettered
 by  chapter  441  of the laws of 2014, is relettered section 380-w and a
 new section 380-v is added to read as follows:
   § 380-V. SALE AND USE OF EMPLOYMENT  INFORMATION.    (A)  NO  CONSUMER
 REPORTING  AGENCY  OR  ANY  SUBSIDIARY  THEREOF SHALL SELL OR RESELL, OR
 OFFER FOR SALE OR RESALE OR DISTRIBUTE  EMPLOYMENT  INFORMATION  TO  ANY
 PRINCIPAL  CREDITOR,  AS  THAT  TERM  IS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF
 SECTION SIX HUNDRED OF THIS CHAPTER, OR  OTHER  DEBT  COLLECTOR  WITHOUT
 VERIFYING  THAT  SUCH SALE, RESALE, OR DISTRIBUTION WAS DISCLOSED TO THE
 CONSUMER TO WHOM SUCH EMPLOYMENT  INFORMATION  PERTAINS  IN  A  SEPARATE
 STAND-ALONE  DOCUMENT,  AND  THAT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM SUCH CONSUMER WAS
 OBTAINED.  EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED  TO,
 PAYROLL  AND  EARNINGS  INFORMATION,  HOURS WORKED, CONSUMER HISTORY AND
 HEALTH INSURANCE INFORMATION.
   (B) SUCH DISCLOSURE AND CONSUMER CONSENT SHALL BE GIVEN IN A SEPARATE,
 STAND-ALONE DOCUMENT AND CONSENT SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE PARTICULAR  USE
 OR TRANSACTION FOR WHICH CONSENT IS GIVEN.
   (C)  WHEREVER  THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, AN APPLICA-
 TION MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF
 THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION BY A
 SPECIAL PROCEEDING TO ISSUE  AN  INJUNCTION,  AND  UPON  NOTICE  TO  THE
 DEFENDANT  OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO ENJOIN OR RESTRAIN THE CONTIN-
 UANCE OF SUCH VIOLATION; AND IF IT SHALL APPEAR TO THE  SATISFACTION  OF
 THE  COURT  OR  JUSTICE  THAT  THE DEFENDANT HAS, IN FACT, VIOLATED THIS
 SECTION, AN INJUNCTION MAY BE ISSUED BY SUCH COURT OR JUSTICE, ENJOINING
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03472-01-1

 S. 6621                             2
 
 AND RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER VIOLATION, WITHOUT REQUIRING PROOF THAT  ANY
 PERSON  HAS,  IN  FACT,  BEEN  INJURED  OR  DAMAGED THEREBY. IN ANY SUCH
 PROCEEDING, THE COURT MAY MAKE ALLOWANCES TO  THE  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  AS
 PROVIDED  IN  PARAGRAPH  SIX  OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION EIGHTY-THREE
 HUNDRED THREE OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES, AND  DIRECT  RESTITU-
 TION.  WHENEVER  THE  COURT  SHALL  DETERMINE  THAT  A VIOLATION OF THIS
 SECTION HAS OCCURRED, THE COURT MAY IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY OF  NOT  MORE
 THAN  TWO  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  FOR EACH VIOLATION. IN CONNECTION WITH ANY
 SUCH PROPOSED APPLICATION, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS  AUTHORIZED  TO  TAKE
 PROOF  AND  MAKE  A  DETERMINATION  OF  THE  RELEVANT FACTS AND TO ISSUE
 SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
   (D) IN ADDITION TO ANY RIGHT OF ACTION GRANTED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, ANY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN INJURED BY  REASON  OF
 ANY VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY BRING AN ACTION IN HIS OR HER OWN NAME
 TO ENJOIN SUCH UNLAWFUL ACT OR PRACTICE, AN ACTION TO RECOVER HIS OR HER
 COMPENSATORY DAMAGES AND ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, OR BOTH SUCH ACTIONS. THE
 COURT  MAY,  IN  ITS  DISCRETION, AWARD THE PREVAILING PLAINTIFF IN SUCH
 ACTION AN ADDITIONAL AWARD NOT TO EXCEED FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS,  IF  THE
 COURT  FINDS  THE  DEFENDANT  WILLFULLY  VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
 SECTION. THE COURT MAY AWARD REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES TO A  PREVAILING
 PLAINTIFF.
   (E)  NOTHING  IN THIS SECTION SHALL IN ANY WAY LIMIT THE RIGHTS, REME-
 DIES OR PRIVILEGES THAT ARE OTHERWISE AVAILABLE TO A CONSUMER AT LAW  OR
 EQUITY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S6621

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6621

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Sponsored By

Diane J. Savino

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S6621 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments