S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4358
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring employers to
   engage in a good faith cooperative dialogue with employees who request
   accommodation due to a religious practice or observance

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  10  of  section 296 of the executive law, as
 amended by chapter 166 of the laws of 2000, paragraph (a) as amended  by
 chapter  154 of the laws of 2019, and paragraph (b) as amended and para-
 graphs (c) and (d) as added by chapter 539  of  the  laws  of  2002,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   10.  (a)  It  shall  be  an  unlawful  discriminatory practice for any
 employer, or an employee or agent thereof, to impose upon a person as  a
 condition  of obtaining or retaining employment, including opportunities
 for promotion, advancement or transfers, any terms  or  conditions  that
 would require such person to violate or forego a sincerely held practice
 of [his or her] SUCH PERSON'S religion, including but not limited to the
 observance  of  any  particular  day or days or any portion thereof as a
 sabbath or other holy day OR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY in  accordance  with  the
 requirements  of  [his  or her] SUCH PERSON'S religion or the wearing of
 any attire, clothing, or facial hair in accordance with the requirements
 of [his or her] SUCH PERSON'S religion, unless, after engaging in a bona
 fide effort WHICH SHALL INCLUDE A  COOPERATIVE  DIALOGUE,  the  employer
 demonstrates  that it is unable to reasonably accommodate the employee's
 or prospective employee's sincerely held religious observance  or  prac-
 tice  without  undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.
 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an  employee
 shall  not  be  entitled  to  premium wages or premium benefits for work
 performed during hours to which such premium wages or  premium  benefits
 would  ordinarily  be applicable, if the employee is working during such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08678-01-5
              

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 hours only as an accommodation to [his or her] SUCH EMPLOYEE'S sincerely
 held religious requirements. Nothing in this paragraph or paragraph  (b)
 of  this  subdivision  shall  alter  or abridge the rights granted to an
 employee  concerning  the  payment  of  wages or privileges of seniority
 accruing to that employee.
   (b) Except where it would cause an employer to incur  an  undue  hard-
 ship,  no  person  shall  be required to BE PRESENT OR remain at [his or
 her] SUCH PERSON'S place of employment during any day or days or portion
 thereof that, as a requirement of [his or her] SUCH  PERSON'S  religion,
 [he  or  she] SUCH PERSON observes as [his or her] SUCH PERSON'S sabbath
 or other holy day OR RELIGIOUS  HOLIDAY,  including  a  reasonable  time
 prior  and  subsequent  thereto  for  travel  between  [his or her] SUCH
 PERSON'S place of employment  and  [his  or  her]  SUCH  PERSON'S  home,
 provided  however, that any such absence from work shall, wherever prac-
 ticable [in the reasonable judgment of] AND AS AGREED UPON  BETWEEN  the
 employer AND THE EMPLOYEE PURSUANT TO A COOPERATIVE DIALOGUE, be made up
 by  an equivalent amount of time and work at some other mutually conven-
 ient time, or shall be charged against any  leave  with  pay  ordinarily
 granted, other than sick leave, provided further, however, that any such
 absence  not  so  made  up or charged, may be treated by the employer of
 such person as leave taken without pay.
   (c) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to
 refuse to permit an employee to utilize leave OR TO REFUSE TO ENGAGE  IN
 A  COOPERATIVE  DIALOGUE  REQUESTED BY AN EMPLOYEE, as provided in para-
 graph (b) of this subdivision, solely because the leave will be used for
 absence from work to accommodate the employee's sincerely held religious
 observance or practice.
   (d) As used in this subdivision: (1) "undue hardship"  shall  mean  an
 accommodation  requiring  significant expense or difficulty (including a
 significant interference with the safe or  efficient  operation  of  the
 workplace or a violation of a bona fide seniority system). Factors to be
 considered in determining whether the accommodation constitutes an undue
 economic hardship shall include, but not be limited to:
   (i) the identifiable cost of the accommodation, including the costs of
 loss  of  productivity  and  of  retaining or hiring employees or trans-
 ferring employees from one facility to another, in relation to the  size
 and operating cost of the employer;
   (ii)  the  number of individuals who will need the particular accommo-
 dation to a sincerely held religious observance or practice; and
   (iii) for an employer with multiple facilities, the  degree  to  which
 the  geographic separateness or administrative or fiscal relationship of
 the facilities will make the accommodation more difficult or expensive.
   Provided, however, an accommodation shall be considered to  constitute
 an  undue  hardship if it will result in the inability of an employee to
 perform the essential functions of the position in  which  [he  or  she]
 SUCH EMPLOYEE is employed.
   (2)  "premium  wages" shall include overtime pay and compensatory time
 off, and additional remuneration for night, weekend or holiday work,  or
 for standby or irregular duty.
   (3)  "premium  benefit"  shall  mean  an  employment  benefit, such as
 seniority, group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance,
 sick leave, annual leave, or an educational or pension benefit  that  is
 greater  than  the employment benefit due the employee for an equivalent
 period of work performed during the regular work schedule of the employ-
 ee.
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   (4) "COOPERATIVE DIALOGUE" SHALL MEAN THE PROCESS BY WHICH AN EMPLOYER
 AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGE IN GOOD FAITH WRITTEN OR  ORAL  DIALOGUE  CONCERNING
 SUCH EMPLOYEE'S NEEDS FOR ACCOMMODATION REGARDING SUCH EMPLOYEE'S OBSER-
 VANCE  OF  A SINCERELY HELD PRACTICE OF SUCH EMPLOYEE'S RELIGION, POTEN-
 TIAL  ACCOMMODATIONS  THAT  MAY  ADDRESS  SUCH  EMPLOYEE'S ACCOMMODATION
 NEEDS, AND THE DIFFICULTIES THAT SUCH POTENTIAL ACCOMMODATIONS MAY  POSE
 FOR SUCH EMPLOYER.
   In the case of any employer other than the state, any of its political
 subdivisions  or  any  school district, this subdivision shall not apply
 where the uniform application of terms and conditions of  attendance  to
 employees is essential to prevent undue economic hardship to the employ-
 er.  In any proceeding in which the applicability of this subdivision is
 in issue, the burden of proof shall be upon the employer. If  any  ques-
 tion  shall arise whether a particular position or class of positions is
 excepted from this subdivision by this paragraph, such question  may  be
 referred in writing by any party claimed to be aggrieved, in the case of
 any position of employment by the state or any of its political subdivi-
 sions,  except  by any school district, to the civil service commission,
 in the case of any position of employment by any school district, to the
 commissioner of education, who shall determine such question and in  the
 case  of any other employer, a party claiming to be aggrieved may file a
 complaint with the division pursuant to this article. Any such  determi-
 nation by the civil service commission shall be reviewable in the manner
 provided  by  article  seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules
 and any such determination by the commissioner  of  education  shall  be
 reviewable  in the manner and to the same extent as other determinations
 of the commissioner under section three hundred  ten  of  the  education
 law.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.