NY State Senate Bill 2025-S381

Senate Bill S381

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to certain notices and guidelines regarding mental health services and resources available to employees

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

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

co-Sponsors

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Add §201-j, Lab L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S7577
2023-2024: S1860

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the commissioner of labor to create and distribute to employers written materials regarding mental health services and resources available to employees to be posted in the workplace; directs voluntary guidance for employers to put in place strategies and programs to support the mental health and wellness of their employees; provides that such guidance be in written and digital resources and in English or translated to an additional primary language or languages as applicable.

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S381

SPONSOR: BROUK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to workplace mental health

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would require employers to provide employees with information
on mental health issues and resources and to destigmatize mental health
in the workplace.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill requires the Commissioner of Labor, in consulta-
tion with the Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health, and the Divi-
sion of Human Rights to create and distribute written materials regard-
ing mental health conditions and available resources to employees. The
bill requires these written materials to include at a minimum, signs and
symptoms of mental health concerns, hotlines, websites, or other
resources. Furthermore, the bill requires these aforementioned agencies

to translate these written materials in at least twelve of the most
common languages spoken by individuals with limited English-proficiency.
Lastly, the bill requires these agencies to collaboratively work to
establish voluntary guidelines for addressing mental health conditions
in the workplace.

Section 2 of this bill related to the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Adults spend most of their lives in the workplace. Due to increased
pressures at work, the dissolution of home and work due to new technolo-
gies allowing work from home, and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important
now more than ever to focus on employee's mental health.

Employees who undergo physical and mental health problems, also experi-
ence reduced productivity levels at work. According to the World Health
Organization, at least one trillion dollars per year is spent in the
global economy because of depression and anxiety. By providing mental
health resources in the workplace and creating workplace websites,
portals, and/or guidelines, these resources can help reduce the stigma
surrounding mental health by making it something common and established.
As a result, this bill will provide employees with the proper tools to
get the help they need while also showing employees that their mental
health issues matter and are important and recognized by their employer.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021: S7577 Referred to Rules.

2022: S7577B Passed Senate.

2023-24: S1860 Passed Senate.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

TBD.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This law will take effect on the one-hundred-eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    381
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. BROUK, JACKSON, RAMOS, SKOUFIS, WEBB -- 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 workplace mental health

   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 201-j to
 read as follows:
   § 201-J. WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND RESOURCES.  1.  POSTING
 OF INFORMATION REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND RESOURCES.
   A.  THE  COMMISSIONER,  IN  CONSULTATION  WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF THE
 OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH, AND THE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, SHALL  CREATE
 AND  DISTRIBUTE  WRITTEN  MATERIALS REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND
 RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES. SUCH MATERIALS SHALL INCLUDE AT  MINI-
 MUM,  SIGNS  AND SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS, HOTLINES, WEBSITES,
 OR OTHER RESOURCES MAINTAINED BY LOCAL, STATE OR NATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS
 OFFERING  MENTAL  HEALTH  SERVICES,  AND RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT
 FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS  FOR  EMPLOYEES  WITH
 MENTAL  HEALTH  RELATED  DISABILITIES.   SUCH WRITTEN MATERIALS SHALL BE
 TRANSLATED INTO AT LEAST THE TWELVE MOST  COMMON  NON-ENGLISH  LANGUAGES
 SPOKEN  BY  INDIVIDUALS  WITH  LIMITED-ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IN THE STATE,
 BASED ON THE DATA IN THE MOST RECENT AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY PUBLISHED
 BY THE UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU.
   B. EVERY EMPLOYER IN THE STATE SHALL POST SUCH MATERIALS  IN  A  PLACE
 ACCESSIBLE  TO  THEIR  EMPLOYEES  AND  IN A VISUALLY CONSPICUOUS MANNER.
 WHERE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES HAVE IDENTIFIED AS THEIR PRIMARY
 LANGUAGE A LANGUAGE FOR WHICH SUCH WRITTEN MATERIALS  HAVE  BEEN  TRANS-
 LATED  BY THE DEPARTMENT, SUCH WRITTEN MATERIALS SHALL BE POSTED IN BOTH
 ENGLISH AND SUCH ADDITIONAL PRIMARY LANGUAGE OR LANGUAGES AS APPLICABLE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01224-01-5

 S. 381                              2
 
   2. VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE FOR ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH IN  THE  WORKPLACE.
 THE COMMISSIONER, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF THE OFFICE OF
 MENTAL  HEALTH  AND THE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, SHALL ESTABLISH VOLUN-
 TARY GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH IN  THE  WORKPLACE.
 SUCH  GUIDANCE  SHALL  CONTAIN,  AT  MINIMUM,  STRATEGIES  AND TOOLS FOR
 EMPLOYERS TO REDUCE MENTAL HEALTH  STIGMA  IN  THE  WORKPLACE,  INCREASE
 AWARENESS  OF THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS, CREATE A
 WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT INCLUSIVE OF MENTAL HEALTH  RELATED  DISABILITIES,
 AND  PROMOTE  MENTAL  HEALTH WELLNESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT IN THE WORK-
 PLACE.  SUCH GUIDANCE SHALL PROVIDE BOTH GUIDELINES  FOR  BEST  EMPLOYER
 PRACTICES  AS WELL AS WRITTEN AND DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR EMPLOYERS TO USE
 IN THE WORKPLACE AT THEIR OPTION.
   § 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 S381

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Sponsored By

Samra G. Brouk

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

co-Sponsors

Robert Jackson

Jessica Ramos

James Skoufis

Lea Webb

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S381 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments