NY State Senate Bill 2023-S7639

Senate Bill S7639

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for confronting an individual to prevent a theft or the unlawful taking of goods, wares, or merchandise

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor 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

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to labor
Aug 21, 2023	referred to rules

2023-S7639 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7976
Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Add §215-d, Lab L

2023-S7639 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for confronting an individual to prevent a theft or the unlawful taking of goods, wares, or merchandise; does not prohibit employers from training or re-training employees on policies against confrontation of theft.

2023-S7639 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7639

SPONSOR: MATTERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting employers from
retaliating against employees for confronting an individual to prevent a
theft or the unlawful taking of goods, wares, or merchandise

 
PURPOSE:

To protect employees from retaliation by an employer if an employee
confronts or attempts to confront an individual to prevent a theft.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Amends the Labor law by adding a new section 215-d to prohibit retali-
ation by an employer against an employee who confronts an individual to
prevent a theft or the unlawful taking of goods, wares, or merchandise.
In addition, an employer may not penalize or retaliate against any
employee by reducing work hours, denying a promotion or decreasing pay.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

While it is important that retail stores focus on protecting their
employees or instituting policies advising employees against confronta-
tion to prevent a theft, an employee who intervenes in such attempt
should not be penalized including termination of the job. The current
explosion in retail theft, which shows no signs of subsiding, whether it
is organized retail crime or a lone individual acting on their own
behalf, has created turmoil in the industry for both employers and
employees. The unfortunate outcome has resulted in job loss for many
employees who react to these crimes by intervening in an attempt to stop
these criminals.

Nothing in this bill is intended to encourage employee interactions with
criminals committing theft of merchandise. In fact, it is only common
sense that for stores who have security personnel, that job is best left
up to trained professionals. This bill simply states that an employee
intervening in an attempt to thwart a theft, that employee will not be
subjected to job termination.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S7639 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7639
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              August 21, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MATTERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting employers from
   retaliating against employees for confronting an individual to prevent
   a theft or the unlawful taking of goods, wares, or merchandise

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The labor law is amended by adding a new section 215-d to
 read as follows:
   § 215-D. EMPLOYEE CONFRONTATION OF THEFT; PROHIBITED  RETALIATION.  1.
 NO  EMPLOYER  OR HIS OR HER AGENT, OR THE OFFICER OR AGENT OF ANY CORPO-
 RATION, PARTNERSHIP, OR LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, OR ANY  OTHER  PERSON
 SHALL DISCHARGE, THREATEN, PENALIZE, OR IN ANY OTHER MANNER DISCRIMINATE
 OR  RETALIATE  AGAINST  ANY  EMPLOYEE BECAUSE SUCH EMPLOYEE CONFRONTS OR
 ATTEMPTS TO CONFRONT AN INDIVIDUAL TO PREVENT A THEFT  OR  THE  UNLAWFUL
 TAKING OF GOODS, WARES, OR MERCHANDISE.
   2.  AS  USED  IN  THIS SECTION, TO THREATEN, PENALIZE, OR IN ANY OTHER
 MANNER DISCRIMINATE OR RETALIATE  AGAINST  ANY  EMPLOYEE  SHALL  INCLUDE
 REDUCING  WORK  HOURS,  DENYING  A PROMOTION, AND/OR DECREASING PAY, BUT
 SHALL NOT INCLUDE TRAINING OR RE-TRAINING ON APPLICABLE  EMPLOYER  POLI-
 CIES.
   3.  NOTHING  IN  THIS  SECTION  SHALL REQUIRE AN EMPLOYEE TO CONFRONT,
 PREVENT, OR ATTEMPT TO PREVENT A THEFT OR THE UNLAWFUL TAKING OF  GOODS,
 WARES,  OR MERCHANDISE OF AN EMPLOYER, NOR SHALL THIS SECTION PREVENT AN
 EMPLOYER FROM INSTITUTING A POLICY ADVISING EMPLOYEES AGAINST  CONFRONT-
 ING, PREVENTING, OR ATTEMPTING TO PREVENT A THEFT OR THE UNLAWFUL TAKING
 OF GOODS, WARES, OR MERCHANDISE OF AN EMPLOYER.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11986-01-3

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