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A10697 Summary:

BILL NOA10697
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07519
 
SPONSORRules (Reyes)
 
COSPNSRKelles, Cruz
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §203-f, Lab L
 
Enacts the "standing is tiring (sit) act"; requires employers to provide suitable seats to all employees where the nature of such employees' work reasonably permits seated work; prohibits employers from artificially designing a work space to require standing; requires the department of labor to determine whether the nature of work reasonably permits seated work; creates a private right of action for employees whose employer does not provide seats.
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A10697 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10697
 
SPONSOR: Rules (Reyes)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting the "standing is tiring (sit) act"   PURPOSE: To enhance workplace safety and performance by allowing employees who are reasonably able to sit during their jobs the option to do so.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: The bill adds a new section 203-f to the labor law to require employers to provide seats to all employees where the job reasonably allows seated work, to prohibit employers from designing workplaces to require stand- ing where not necessary, to require the Department of Labor to promul- gate standards for whether the nature of an employee's work reasonably permits sitting, and to establish a right of action again employers who fail to meet these requirements.   JUSTIFICATION: Employees in many settings, especially retail and food service, are required to stand for their entire shift. Employers often assert that this is necessary for reasons associated with professionalism, efficien- cy, and business needs. It is often necessary to stand while performing work, but it also true that prolonged standing with minimal or no breaks is not a necessity in many workplaces. According to a review by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, prolonged stand- ing at work can even lead to numerous negative health outcomes. They cite studies showing that prolonged standing lower back pain, fatigue, muscle pain, tiredness, and body soreness, and can even pose risks of cardiovascular problems and other serious issues. There are many changes that employers can make to allow employees more options besides simply standing for hours on end during their shifts; the simplest of these is to provide employees who are reasonably able to perform their work sitting the option to do so. This legislation presents a reasonable step in this direction: requiring employers to provide employees who can sit with the ability to do so and preventing employers from constructing workplaces to force prolonged standing unnecessarily. This simple change to New York's labor laws will provide relief and increase produc- tivity for many of our hardest working neighbors.   FISCAL IMPACT: To be determined   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New legislation   EFFECTIVE DATE: One year after enactment
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A10697 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10697
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    September 9, 2022
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at request of M. of A. Reyes,
          Kelles, Cruz) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
 
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting the "standing  is
          tiring (sit) act"
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "standing
     2  is tiring (sit) act".
     3    § 2. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 203-f to read as
     4  follows:
     5    §  203-f.  Employee right to sit. 1.  An employer shall be required to
     6  provide suitable seats to all employees where the nature of such employ-
     7  ees' work reasonably permits seated work.
     8    2. An employer shall be prohibited from  designing  a  work  space  to
     9  require  standing  where such work space could reasonably be designed to
    10  permit seated work.
    11    3. The department shall promulgate rules and/or regulations for deter-
    12  mining whether the nature of an employee's work reasonably permits seat-
    13  ed work under subdivision one of this section, based on the totality  of
    14  the  circumstances  for  each  employee,  including, but not limited to,
    15  whether:
    16    (a) an employee's tasks can be performed from a chair;
    17    (b) seating an employee would interfere with job performance; and
    18    (c) the physical layout of a work space is conducive to seating.
    19    4. An employee shall have  a  private  right  of  action  for  damages
    20  against  any  employer  who  fails  to  provide suitable seating to such
    21  employee in violation of subdivision one of this section.
    22    § 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
    23  law.
 
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13544-01-1
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