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A00431 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           431
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, ABINANTI, GUNTHER, MOSLEY, GOTTFRIED,
          WEPRIN,  MONTESANO,  L. ROSENTHAL,  COLTON, JAFFEE, CAHILL, O'DONNELL,
          PEOPLES-STOKES, STECK, RAIA, PERRY, SIMOTAS, OTIS, RODRIGUEZ, BLAKE --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO,  COOK,  CROUCH,  GALEF,  GLICK,
          McDONOUGH, STEC -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer
          Affairs and Protection
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the general business law, in relation to the sale and
          use of employment information
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.   Section 380-v of the general business law, as relettered
     2  by chapter 441 of the laws of 2014, is relettered section  380-w  and  a
     3  new section 380-v is added to read as follows:
     4    §  380-v.  Sale  and  use of employment information.   (a) No consumer
     5  reporting agency or any subsidiary thereof  shall  sell  or  resell,  or
     6  offer  for  sale  or  resale or distribute employment information to any
     7  principal creditor, as that term is  defined  in  subdivision  three  of
     8  section  six  hundred  of  this chapter, or other debt collector without
     9  verifying that such sale, resale, or distribution was disclosed  to  the
    10  consumer  to  whom  such  employment  information pertains in a separate
    11  stand-alone document, and that written consent from  such  consumer  was
    12  obtained.   Employment information shall include, but not be limited to,
    13  payroll and earnings information, hours  worked,  consumer  history  and
    14  health insurance information.
    15    (b) Such disclosure and consumer consent shall be given in a separate,
    16  stand-alone  document and consent shall be limited to the particular use
    17  or transaction for which consent is given.
    18    (c) Wherever there shall be a violation of this section,  an  applica-
    19  tion  may  be  made by the attorney general in the name of the people of
    20  the state of New York to a court or justice  having  jurisdiction  by  a
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02680-01-9

        A. 431                              2
 
     1  special  proceeding  to  issue  an  injunction,  and  upon notice to the
     2  defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin or restrain the  contin-
     3  uance  of  such violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of
     4  the  court  or  justice  that  the defendant has, in fact, violated this
     5  section, an injunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining
     6  and restraining any further violation, without requiring proof that  any
     7  person  has,  in  fact,  been  injured  or  damaged thereby. In any such
     8  proceeding, the court may make allowances to  the  attorney  general  as
     9  provided  in  paragraph  six  of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three
    10  hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and  direct  restitu-
    11  tion.  Whenever  the  court  shall  determine  that  a violation of this
    12  section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of  not  more
    13  than  two  thousand  dollars  for each violation. In connection with any
    14  such proposed application, the attorney general is  authorized  to  take
    15  proof  and  make  a  determination  of  the  relevant facts and to issue
    16  subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
    17    (d) In addition to any right of action granted to the attorney general
    18  pursuant to this section, any person who has been injured by  reason  of
    19  any violation of this section may bring an action in his or her own name
    20  to enjoin such unlawful act or practice, an action to recover his or her
    21  compensatory damages and one thousand dollars, or both such actions. The
    22  court  may,  in  its  discretion, award the prevailing plaintiff in such
    23  action an additional award not to exceed five thousand dollars,  if  the
    24  court  finds  the  defendant  willfully  violated the provisions of this
    25  section. The court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a  prevailing
    26  plaintiff.
    27    (e)  Nothing  in this section shall in any way limit the rights, reme-
    28  dies or privileges that are otherwise available to a consumer at law  or
    29  equity.
    30    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    31  it shall have become a law.
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