Bill Text: NY A03345 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "employment first choice act" to ensure that an individual with developmental disabilities in a nonintegrated setting shall have the right to remain in such a setting under certain circumstances.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to people with disabilities [A03345 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03345-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3345

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. GALLAHAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on People with Disabilities

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the mental hygiene law, in relation to directing the
          commissioner of developmental disabilities to  establish  a  procedure
          through  which  persons  with developmental disabilities may choose to
          remain in a nonintegrated setting

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

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "employment first choice act".
     3    § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature  hereby  supports  increasing
     4  access  to  integrated employment settings for individuals with develop-
     5  mental disabilities. The legislature additionally finds,  however,  that
     6  the  policy  to  increase  integrated employment opportunities shall not
     7  preclude an individual's right to choose either an integrated or  nonin-
     8  tegrated  setting  in accordance with such individual's personal wishes.
     9  Furthermore, the legislature supports an individual's informed choice to
    10  remain in a nonintegrated setting in  order  to,  among  other  personal
    11  priorities,  retain  friendships,  continue their participation in their
    12  community as they so choose, and,  in  some  instances,  maintain  their
    13  ability to earn a paycheck.
    14    The  legislature, therefore, finds that individuals with developmental
    15  disabilities, who currently  participate  in  a  nonintegrated  setting,
    16  should be allowed to choose to remain in such a setting. To require such
    17  individuals  to transition out of this chosen environment undermines the
    18  guiding Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., which held that  the
    19  Americans  with  Disabilities Act of 1990 requires placement of individ-
    20  uals with developmental disabilities in integrated settings rather  than
    21  nonintegrated  settings, but only when such a transfer is not opposed by
    22  the affected individual. The legislature, therefore, declares  this  act

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04926-01-3
        A. 3345                             2

     1  to  be  a  priority  of  the  state's actions affecting individuals with
     2  developmental disabilities.
     3    §  3.  The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 16.02
     4  to read as follows:
     5  § 16.02 Individual's right of choice.
     6    Any individual with a developmental disability who is participating in
     7  a nonintegrated setting including, but not limited to, a sheltered work-
     8  shop, and who makes an informed choice  to  remain  in  a  nonintegrated
     9  setting  may  seek  accommodation  from  the  commissioner to allow such
    10  placement, provided that pending such request the individual may  remain
    11  in the nonintegrated setting. For purposes of this section, an "informed
    12  choice"  includes the informed choice of an individual or of an individ-
    13  ual's personal representative.
    14    (a) Accommodations shall be granted at the discretion of  the  commis-
    15  sioner,  who may also require that the individual has completed at least
    16  one of the following:
    17    (1) Participation in at least one  vocational  assessment  every  five
    18  years  in  accordance  with regulations promulgated by the commissioner.
    19  The primary purpose of a vocational assessment shall be to determine  an
    20  individual's  interests, strengths and abilities, in order to identify a
    21  suitable match between  the  individual  and  a  competitive  integrated
    22  employment setting;
    23    (2)  Completion  of  one  trial  integrated work experience every five
    24  years, which can include any work experience  with  or  without  pay  in
    25  which  the  individual works alongside non-disabled coworkers, customers
    26  or peers, with the appropriate services and supports  for  a  sufficient
    27  period  of  time  to establish whether an individual's interests, skills
    28  and abilities are well-suited for the particular job.  The  trial  inte-
    29  grated work experience shall be selected through a person-centered plan-
    30  ning process and shall be individually tailored to each person. Alterna-
    31  tively,  the commissioner may consider the individual's demonstration of
    32  an inability to participate in an integrated work setting due to a docu-
    33  mented medical condition that poses an immediate and serious  threat  to
    34  the  individual's health or safety, or the health or safety of others in
    35  an integrated work setting;
    36    (3) Receipt of outreach, education and support services in  accordance
    37  with  regulations  promulgated  by the commissioner. Outreach, education
    38  and support services are services designed to explain  the  benefits  of
    39  supported  employment,  as  defined in subdivision eleven of section one
    40  thousand two of the education law, that address concerns of families and
    41  perceived obstacles to participation,  and  are  designed  to  encourage
    42  individuals  in  day  activity  service programs, including in sheltered
    43  workshops and facility-based day programs, and their  families  to  seek
    44  supported  employment  services,  as defined under subdivision twelve of
    45  section one thousand two of the education law; or
    46    (4) Involvement in a benefits counseling  consultation  in  accordance
    47  with  regulations  promulgated by the commissioner. A benefit counseling
    48  consultation shall provide information to the individual and his or  her
    49  family or guardian about the impact of earned income on the individual's
    50  public benefits.
    51    (b)  The office shall ensure that individuals who are granted accommo-
    52  dation to participate in  a  nonintegrated  setting  shall  continue  to
    53  receive  services  and any additional services the office determines are
    54  necessary to enable the individual's  meaningful  participation  in  the
    55  chosen setting.
        A. 3345                             3

     1    (c) The procedures for obtaining accommodation to remain in a noninte-
     2  grated  setting  shall  not supersede nor bar the individual's choice to
     3  remain in a nonintegrated setting.
     4    (d)  The  accommodation to remain in a nonintegrated setting shall not
     5  diminish the individual's eligibility  for  receipt  of  services  under
     6  title  eleven of article five of the social services law, and such indi-
     7  vidual's eligibility to receive such  services  shall  be  substantially
     8  similar  to  benefits  that  would have been received had the individual
     9  chosen to participate in an integrated setting.
    10    (e) The commissioner is authorized to issue, amend or repeal any regu-
    11  lations as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
    12    (f) The commissioner, in consultation with  stakeholders,  shall  take
    13  such  actions  as  shall be necessary to comply with federal law, obtain
    14  federal funding, and assist work settings to remain eligible for federal
    15  funding, in order to enable each individual's choice, for the purpose of
    16  this section, on and after May first, two thousand twenty-seven.
    17    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.