Bill Text: NY S03204 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides additional compensation to certain city employees who possess or make substantial use of foreign languages in the performance of official duties; further creates the "language services program" and a language services director to implement the program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S03204 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S03204-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3204
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens. SERRANO, PERKINS, RIVERA, SAVINO -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Local Government
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the general municipal law, in relation  to providing
          additional compensation to 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  municipal  law  is  amended by adding a new
     2  section 209-ff to read as follows:
     3    § 209-ff. Salary compensation for employees  of  a  police  department
     4  with certain language skills. 1. A city with a population of one hundred
     5  thousand  or more is authorized to adopt a local law to create a program
     6  to be known as the "Language  Services  Program",  which  program  shall
     7  provide  for additional compensation in an amount of not less than  five
     8  percent of the base salary of any employee of a  police  department  who
     9  qualifies for such additional compensation under this section.
    10    2. The commissioner, superintendent or chief of police, where applica-
    11  ble,  of  a police department in a city with a population of one hundred
    12  thousand or more which has adopted a local  law  to  create  a  language
    13  services  program  as described in subdivision one of this section shall
    14  designate a language services  program  director.  The  duties  of  such
    15  program director shall include, but not be limited to:
    16    (a)  determining  qualifications  for  the  language services program,
    17  which qualifications shall include  satisfying  the  requirements  of  a
    18  public contact person as set forth in subdivision three of this section;
    19    (b)  creating  an  application  process for additional language skills
    20  compensation;
    21    (c) defining which foreign languages shall qualify under this program;
    22    (d) setting language skills and proficiency standards which applicants
    23  must demonstrate to qualify;
    24    (e) maintaining a record of public contact positions;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08500-01-7
        S. 3204                             2
     1    (f) keeping a record of all employees who have  qualified  to  receive
     2  language skills pay;
     3    (g)  informing  employees  who are members of the police department of
     4  the program; and
     5    (h) distributing to all employees of the police department information
     6  regarding the application procedures for such program.
     7    The program director shall identify those positions within the  police
     8  department  that  are  to be designated as public contact positions. The
     9  decision of the program director as to  the  classification  of  such  a
    10  position is final.
    11    3.  A  public  contact  person shall be defined as a sworn or civilian
    12  position with the police department wherein thirty percent  or  more  of
    13  the  assigned work of such person involves direct communication with the
    14  public.  Such positions shall include, but not  be  limited  to,  patrol
    15  officers,  police  communication dispatchers, investigators, detectives,
    16  and other such positions as determined by the program director.
    17    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of October next  succeed-
    18  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.