Bill Text: NY A00306 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Makes the release of any claim by an employee, or independent contractor who is a natural person, against an employer, unenforceable if, as a condition of such resolution, the employee or independent contractor is prohibited from applying for, accepting, or engaging in future employment with such employer, or any entity or entities related to such employer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to judiciary [A00306 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00306-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           306

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  CRUZ, L. ROSENTHAL, SIMON, EPSTEIN, MAMDANI,
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN, FAHY, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, SEAWRIGHT,  DINOWITZ,  PAULIN
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN  ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to the release
          of certain claims by certain employees

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  general  obligations  law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 5-338 to read as follows:
     3    § 5-338. Release of certain employee claims.  1. For purposes of  this
     4  section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a)  "Employer" shall mean all public and private employers within the
     6  state.
     7    (b) "Employee" shall mean all public and private employees within  the
     8  state.
     9    2.  No  release of any claim by an employee, or independent contractor
    10  who is a natural person, against an employer, is enforceable if, as part
    11  of the agreement resolving  such  claim,  the  employee  or  independent
    12  contractor  is  prohibited  from applying for, accepting, or engaging in
    13  future employment with such employer, or any entity or entities  related
    14  to  such  employer. The provisions of this section shall not preclude an
    15  employee and employer from agreeing to terminate an existing  employment
    16  relationship  as  part  of  a settlement of a claim.   If a release of a
    17  claim is rendered unenforceable pursuant to this section,  the  employer
    18  shall  remain bound by all other provisions of the settlement agreement,
    19  including the obligation  to  provide  the  full  consideration  to  the
    20  employee as set forth in the agreement.
    21    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    22  have become a law and shall apply to all agreements entered into on  and
    23  after such date.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01493-01-3