S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    28
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  SKOUFIS,  COMRIE,  COONEY,  FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES,
   HARCKHAM,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,  KAVANAGH,  MAY,  RAMOS,  SALAZAR,
   STAVISKY  --  read  twice  and ordered printed, and when printed to be
   committed to the Committee on Labor

 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in  relation  to  the  minimum  wage  for
   employees with disabilities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 651 of the labor law,  as  amended
 by  chapter  481    of  the  laws  of 2010, and the opening paragraph as
 amended by chapter 391 of the laws  of  2024,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5. "Employee" includes any individual employed or permitted to work by
 an  employer in any occupation, but shall not include any individual who
 is employed or permitted to work: (a) on a casual basis in service as  a
 part  time  baby  sitter in the home of the employer; (b) in a bona fide
 executive, administrative, or professional capacity; (c) as  an  outside
 salesman;  (d)  as  a  driver  engaged  in operating a taxicab; (e) as a
 volunteer, learner or apprentice by a corporation, unincorporated  asso-
 ciation,  community  chest,  fund  or  foundation organized and operated
 exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes,  no  part
 of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private share-
 holder or individual; (f) as a member of a religious order, or as a duly
 ordained,  commissioned  or  licensed minister, priest or rabbi, or as a
 sexton, or as a christian science reader; (g) in or for such a religious
 or charitable institution, which work is incidental to or in return  for
 charitable  aid conferred upon such individual and not under any express
 contract of hire; (h) in or for such a religious, educational or  chari-
 table institution if such individual is a student; (i) [in or for such a
 religious, educational or charitable institution if the earning capacity

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

                                                            LBD00052-01-5
 S. 28                               2

 of such individual is impaired by age or by physical or mental deficien-
 cy or injury; (j)] in or for a summer camp or conference of such a reli-
 gious,  educational  or  charitable  institution for not more than three
 months  annually;  [(k)]  (J) as a staff counselor in a children's camp;
 [(l)] (K) in or  for  a  college  or  university  fraternity,  sorority,
 student  association or faculty association, no part of the net earnings
 of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual,
 and which is recognized by such college or university, if such  individ-
 ual  is a student; [(m)] (L) by a federal, state or municipal government
 or political subdivision thereof; [(n)] (M) as a volunteer at  a  recre-
 ational  or amusement event run by a business that operates such events,
 provided that no single such event lasts longer than  eight  consecutive
 days  and  no more than one such event concerning substantially the same
 subject matter occurs in any calendar year, where (1) any such volunteer
 shall be at least eighteen years of age, (2) a business seeking coverage
 under this  paragraph  shall  notify  every  volunteer  in  writing,  in
 language  acceptable  to  the commissioner, that by volunteering [his or
 her] THEIR services, such volunteer is waiving [his or her] THEIR  right
 to  receive  the  minimum  wage  pursuant  to this article, and (3) such
 notice shall be signed and dated by a representative of the business and
 the volunteer and kept on file by the business  for  thirty-six  months;
 [(o)] (N) in the delivery of newspapers or shopping news to the consumer
 by  a  person  who  is  not  performing  commercial goods transportation
 services for a commercial goods  transportation  contractor  within  the
 meaning  of  article  twenty-five-C of this chapter; or [(p)] (O) having
 entered into a contract to play baseball at the minor league  level  and
 who  is  compensated  pursuant  to  the terms of a collective bargaining
 agreement that expressly provides for the  wages,  hours  of  work,  and
 working conditions of employees. The exclusions from the term "employee"
 contained  in this subdivision shall be as defined by regulations of the
 commissioner.
   "Employee" also includes any individual employed or permitted to  work
 in  any  non-teaching  capacity by a school district or board of cooper-
 ative educational services except that the provisions  of  sections  six
 hundred fifty-three through six hundred fifty-nine of this article shall
 not be applicable in any such case.
   §  2.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 655 of the labor law,
 as amended by chapter 747 of the laws of 1978, is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (c)  The  wage  board  may  also recommend, to the extent necessary in
 order to prevent curtailment  of  opportunities  for  employment,  regu-
 lations  for  (1)  the  employment  of  learners  and apprentices, under
 special certificates issued by the commissioner,  at  such  wages  lower
 than  the  minimum  wage established by this article and subject to such
 limitations as to time, number, proportion  and  length  of  service  as
 shall  be prescribed in such regulation, (2) [the employment of individ-
 uals whose earning capacity is affected or impaired by youth or  age  or
 by  physical  or mental deficiency or injury, under special certificates
 issued by the commissioner, at such wages lower than  the  minimum  wage
 established  by  this article and for such period as shall be prescribed
 in such regulation, (3)] the establishment of  a  period  not  extending
 beyond  seventeen  consecutive weeks during which a resort hotel or camp
 may employ students under special certificates issued by the commission-
 er, at such wages lower than the minimum wage established by this  arti-
 cle as shall be prescribed in such regulation, and [(4)] (3) the employ-
 ment   of  residential  employees  in  a  non-profit  making  religious,
 S. 28                               3
 
 charitable or educational organization or in a non-profit making college
 or university sorority or fraternity under special  certificates  issued
 by  the  commissioner at such weekly wage as shall be prescribed in such
 regulation.
   §  3.  This act shall take effect on the thirty-first of December next
 succeeding the date upon which it shall have  become  a  law.  Effective
 immediately,  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu-
 lation by the department of labor necessary for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on  its effective date are authorized to be made on or before
 such effective date.