Bill Text: NY S05192 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires employers to give written notice to employees about electronic mail monitoring.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO CODES [S05192 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S05192-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5192

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 26, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in  relation  to  electronic  mail
          monitoring of employees

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

     1    Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
     2  52-d to read as follows:
     3    §  52-d.  Employers  engaged  in  electronic  monitoring; prior notice
     4  required. 1. For purposes of this section, employer means  any  individ-
     5  ual,  corporation,  partnership,  firm,  or  association with a place of
     6  business in the state.
     7    2. (a) Any employer who monitors or  otherwise  intercepts  electronic
     8  mail  or  transmissions,  by  an  employee  by  any electronic device or
     9  system, shall give prior written notice upon hiring to all employees who
    10  are subject to electronic mail monitoring. The notice required  by  this
    11  subdivision  shall be in writing, in an electronic record, or in another
    12  electronic form and acknowledged by the employee either  in  writing  or
    13  electronically.
    14    (b)  For  purposes of written notice required by paragraph (a) of this
    15  subdivision, an employee shall be advised that any  and  all  electronic
    16  mail or transmissions by an employee by any electronic device or system,
    17  may  be  subject  to  monitoring  at any and all times and by any lawful
    18  means.
    19    3. The attorney general may enforce the provisions  of  this  section.
    20  Any  employer  found to be in violation of this section shall be subject
    21  to a maximum civil penalty of one thousand dollars for each offense.
    22    4. The provisions of this section shall not apply  to  processes  that
    23  are  designed to manage the type or volume of incoming or outgoing elec-
    24  tronic mail that are not targeted to monitor or intercept the electronic

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04408-01-1
        S. 5192                             2

     1  mail of a particular individual, and that are performed solely  for  the
     2  purpose of computer system maintenance and/or protection.
     3    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     4  it shall have become a law.