Bill Text: NY S04549 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits a cause of action for defamation where the subject of such action includes an allegation made to an employer regarding an unlawful discriminatory practice or act of retaliation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CODES [S04549 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04549-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4549

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. GOUNARDES, BROUK, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KRUEGER,
          MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered print-
          ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to libel  and  defama-
          tion actions

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

     1    Section 1. Section 74 of the civil rights law, as added by chapter 310
     2  of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 74. Privileges in action for libel or defamation.   1. (a)  A  civil
     4  action cannot be maintained against any person, firm or corporation, for
     5  the  publication  of  a fair and true report of any judicial proceeding,
     6  legislative proceeding or other official proceeding, or for any  heading
     7  of  the  report  which  is  a  fair  and  true headnote of the statement
     8  published.
     9    (b) This section does not apply to a  libel  contained  in  any  other
    10  matter  added  by  any  person  concerned  in the publication; or in the
    11  report of anything said or done at the time and place of such a proceed-
    12  ing which was not a part thereof.
    13    2. No cause of action for defamation can be maintained by  any  person
    14  or  entity,  against  any  person  or  entity, where the subject of such
    15  action includes a protected allegation, whether such  protected  allega-
    16  tion  is  formal or informal, oral or in writing. "Protected allegation"
    17  shall mean an allegation made to an employer or its agent  by  a  person
    18  protected  by the New York state human rights law or New York city human
    19  rights law, or such person's agent, of (a)  an  unlawful  discriminatory
    20  practice  as  defined by the New York state human rights law or New York
    21  city human rights law, where such allegation relates to  employment,  or
    22  (b)  employment discrimination (including retaliation) prohibited by any
    23  federal, state, or local law.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03096-01-3