NY State Senate Bill 2025-S372

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to labor

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Add §215-d, Lab L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S7609

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the "no severance ultimatums act", which prevents employers from giving coercive ultimatums to employees or former employees relating to such employee's severance from employment.

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S372

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing the "no
severance ultimatums act"

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that all New Yorkers are provided protections when reviewing
severance agreements, including providing ample time to review such
agreements.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill sets forth the title, the "No Severance Ultima-
tums Act".

Section two of the bill adds a new § 215-d to the labor law to prohibit
coercive severance ultimatums. This includes requiring that employers
notify an employee or former employee of their right to consult an

attorney regarding the agreement; provides at least 21 days for an
employee to review such agreement; allows an employee to revoke an
agreement within 7 days of execution of the contract; and allows an
agreement to be signed in less than 21 days so long as it is knowingly
and voluntarily done, and without fraud on the part of the employer.
Section two also declares that any severance agreement shall be deemed
void and unenforceable if it violates the provisions of this bill. It
also clarifies that the bill shall not prevent any law or regulation
from providing greater protections to employees than the protections
contained herein. The provisions of this section do not apply to sever-
ance agreements negotiated pursuant to a collective bargaining agree-
ment.

Section three of the bill sets the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Currently, only those over the age of 40 are provided any statutory
protections when reviewing severance agreements in accordance with
federal law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Under the federal Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), part of
the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, an employer is
required to provide a 21-day attorney review period in any severance
agreement offered to an employee who is age 40 or older. The agreement
must also contain a 7-day revocation period. However, there are current-
ly no statutory protections, in either New York State or federal law,
for those under the age of 40 being offered severance agreements. In
these instances, employers can force an employee or former employee into
considering an agreement on the spot, with no additional time to review
it themselves or with legal counsel.

Several other states have sought to address this gap in policy, though
none as comprehensively as in this proposal. In 2020, Illinois provides
21-day consideration periods with a 7-day revocation period but only if
the agreement contains promises of confidentiality related to alleged
unlawful employment practices. More recently, California implemented a
5-day minimum severance consideration period to workers. This bill would
be the most progressive proposal in the country, instead seeking to
extend the protections from the OWBPA to all employees of the state,
regardless of age.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S7609-B (Gianaris) PASSED SENATE / A8986-A (Bronson) died in labor

2023: S7609 (Gianaris) died in Labor / A8986 (Joyner) died in labor

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    372
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GIANARIS -- 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  establishing  the  "no
   severance ultimatums act"

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "no severance ultimatums act".
   § 2. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 215-d to read as
 follows:
   §  215-D.  PROHIBITION AGAINST COERCIVE SEVERANCE ULTIMATUMS. 1. DEFI-
 NITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  THE  FOLLOWING  TERMS  SHALL
 HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "EMPLOYEE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS SET FORTH IN SECTION ONE
 HUNDRED NINETY OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (B) "EMPLOYER" SHALL:
   (I)  HAVE  THE SAME MEANING AS SET FORTH IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED NINETY
 OF THIS CHAPTER; AND
   (II) INCLUDE GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.
   2. SEVERANCE ULTIMATUMS. ANY EMPLOYER OFFERING AN EMPLOYEE  OR  FORMER
 EMPLOYEE  AN AGREEMENT RELATED TO SUCH EMPLOYEE'S SEVERANCE FROM EMPLOY-
 MENT SHALL NOTIFY SUCH EMPLOYEE THAT:
   (A) SUCH EMPLOYEE HAS THE RIGHT TO CONSULT AN ATTORNEY REGARDING  SUCH
 AGREEMENT,  AND SUCH EMPLOYEE SHALL BE PROVIDED WITH A REASONABLE PERIOD
 OF TIME NOT LESS THAN TWENTY-ONE BUSINESS DAYS IN WHICH TO CONSIDER  THE
 AGREEMENT;
   (B)  SUCH  EMPLOYEE MAY REVOKE SUCH AGREEMENT WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF THE
 EXECUTION OF SUCH AGREEMENT, AND THE AGREEMENT SHALL NOT  BECOME  EFFEC-
 TIVE OR ENFORCEABLE UNTIL SUCH REVOCATION PERIOD HAS EXPIRED; AND

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00738-01-5

 S. 372                              2
 
   (C)  SUCH  EMPLOYEE  MAY  SIGN SUCH AGREEMENT PRIOR TO THE END OF SUCH
 REVOCATION PERIOD, AS LONG AS SUCH EMPLOYEE'S DECISION TO  SHORTEN  SUCH
 REVOCATION PERIOD IS KNOWING, VOLUNTARY, AND NOT INDUCED BY THE EMPLOYER
 THROUGH  FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, OR A THREAT TO WITHDRAW OR ALTER SUCH
 REVOCATION  PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH REVOCATION PERIOD, OR
 BY PROVIDING DIFFERENT TERMS TO SUCH EMPLOYEE  IF  SUCH  EMPLOYEE  SIGNS
 SUCH AGREEMENT PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF SUCH REVOCATION PERIOD.
   3.  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY SEVERANCE
 AGREEMENT NEGOTIATED PURSUANT TO A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
   4. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY SEVERANCE AGREE-
 MENT  SHALL  BE  DEEMED  VOID  AND  UNENFORCEABLE  IF  IT  VIOLATES  THE
 PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
   5.  NOTHING  HEREIN  SHALL BE DEEMED IN ANY WAY TO LIMIT, RESTRICT, OR
 IMPAIR ANY LAW, RULE, OR REGULATION FROM PROVIDING  GREATER  PROTECTIONS
 THAN PROVIDED FOR IN THIS SECTION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S372

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S372

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Sponsored By

Michael Gianaris

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S372 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments