Prohibits falsely impersonating an employee organization or an employee representative with the intent to deceive the recipient and thereby cause harm to such recipient or employee organization by the use of fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, or other deception in making and disseminating a verbal, written or electronic communication; provides that the attorney general may bring an action or proceeding to enjoin such unlawful acts or practices.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10835A
SPONSOR: Griffin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to prohibiting false-
ly impersonating an employee organization or employee organization
representative
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit any person from knowingly using fraud or misrepresentation
to impersonate a recognized employee organization or an employee organ-
ization representative to interfere with, undermine, or otherwise nega-
tively impact the employee organization.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill adds a new section 216 to the civil service law.
Subdivision one defines key terms.
Subdivision two prohibits any person from falsely impersonating an
employee organization or employee organization representative.
Subdivision three authorizes an employee organization or employee organ-
ization representative alleging a violation of this section to bring a
civil action to recover damages.
Section two provides the effective date. The A-Print conforms language
to existing language in various fraud statutes, transfers responsibility
to sue from the unions to the AG, and lowers the penalty to $1,000 per
incident and gives the judge discretion to alter it.
JUSTIFICATION:
Employee organizations play a critical role in representing public
employees, communicating with members, enforcing collectively negotiated
rights, and advocating on behalf of the workforce. Their ability to
function depends in significant part on the integrity of communications
sent in their name.
In recent years, employee organizations have increasingly faced efforts
by outside actors to mislead employees through fraudulent or deceptive
communications that falsely claim to come from a union or union repre-
sentative. These communications may be verbal, written, or electronic,
and can be designed to confuse members, disrupt union operations, inter-
fere with representation, or damage the credibility and effectiveness of
the organization.
Current law does not clearly and specifically prohibit this type of
conduct in the public sector labor relations context. This legislation
is necessary to address that gap by establishing a clear prohibition
against the false impersonation of an employee organization or its
authorized representatives. It also creates a civil remedy so that
affected organizations and representatives may seek damages when harmed
by such conduct.
By deterring fraudulent impersonation and providing an enforceable reme-
dy, this legislation will help protect the integrity of employee organ-
izations, preserve trust in labor communications, and ensure that public
employees are not misled by unauthorized actors seeking to interfere
with lawful union activity.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
