•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A04992 Summary:

BILL NOA04992
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02447
 
SPONSORBichotte Hermelyn
 
COSPNSRGonzalez-Rojas, Shimsky, Burdick, Davila, Reyes
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §296, Exec L
 
Clarifies the standard for intentional discrimination or retaliation claims by requiring a person or persons prove that an unlawful motivation was a motivating factor and not "the sole motivating factor" or a "but-for cause" of the challenged treatment.
Go to top    

A04992 Actions:

BILL NOA04992
 
02/10/2025referred to governmental operations
05/21/2025amend (t) and recommit to governmental operations
05/21/2025print number 4992a
05/29/2025amend by restoring to original print 4992
Go to top

A04992 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4992
 
SPONSOR: Bichotte Hermelyn
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the executive law, in relation to clarifying the stand- ard for intentional discrimination or retaliation claims   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:: To expand protections against retaliation by clarifying that discrimi- nation need only be a "motivating factor" to be illegal.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS::.; Section 1 amends section 296 of the executive law by adding a new subdi- vision 23 to clarify that in an intentional discrimination or retali- ation claim under this article, it shall not be.necessary to prove that an unlawful motivation was the "sole motivating factor" or the "but for cause" of the treatment giving rise to the claim. Section 2 provides the effective date.   DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION: Changes sections of law amended. Technical changes to effectuate the intent of the law.   JUSTIFICATION:: Recent federal court decisions, including Bostock v. Clayton County, have required that claims for age discrimination, and all claims for retaliation, can only be established if "but-for" the discrimination, the challenged action would not have taken place. For example, if the complaint believes their hours were cut in an act of retaliation for reporting sexual harassment, they must establish that their hours would not have been cut but for their decision to report harassment. Because judges have decided to interpret the New York State Human Rights Law in line with federal statute, this onerous standard has also been applied to age discrimination and retaliation claims brought under state law. The "but-for" standard is confusing to jurors and represents an unat- tainable standard in many cases. In practice, it means that some level of discrimination is acceptable if an employer can demonstrate other reasons for their action. This bill will establish the more attainable "motivating factor" standard which requires that the action was moti- vated, at least in part, by discrimination or retaliation. This is the current standard for disparate treatment claims of discrimination under the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Accordingly, this change will provide a uniform standard in all claims of retaliation and discrimination.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:: 06/07/2024 reported referred to rules 2021-22: A08274-Referred to governmental operations   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:: None   EFFECTIVE DATE:: This act shall take effect immediately.
Go to top

A04992 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4992
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 10, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BICHOTTE HERMELYN,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS, SHIMSKY,
          BURDICK, DAVILA, REYES, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Governmental Operations
 
        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to clarifying the  stand-
          ard for intentional discrimination or retaliation claims

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 296 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
     2  subdivision 23 to read as follows:
     3    23. Notwithstanding any federal or local statute to  the  contrary,  a
     4  person  or  persons  bringing  intentional discrimination or retaliation
     5  claims under this article shall be required to prove  that  an  unlawful
     6  motivation  was a motivating factor and not "the sole motivating factor"
     7  or a "but-for cause" of the challenged treatment.
     8    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
 
 
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03515-01-5
Go to top