Bill Text: NY S07819 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-14 - PRINT NUMBER 7819B [S07819 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S07819-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7819--A

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 25, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. GOUNARDES, BIAGGI, GAUGHRAN, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, LIU,
          MAYER, RIVERA, SANDERS, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary --  commit-
          tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
          mitted to said committee

        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 employers within the state.
     6    (b) "Employee" shall mean all employees within the state.
     7    2.  No release of any claim by an employee, or independent  contractor
     8  who  is  a  natural person, against an employer, is enforceable if, as a
     9  condition of such release, the employee  or  independent  contractor  is
    10  prohibited  from  applying for, accepting, or engaging in future employ-
    11  ment with such employer, or any  entity  or  entities  related  to  such
    12  employer.  The provisions of this section shall not preclude an employee
    13  and employer from agreeing to terminate an existing employment relation-
    14  ship as part of a settlement of a claim.   If a release of  a  claim  is
    15  rendered  unenforceable  pursuant  to  this  section, the employer shall
    16  remain bound by  all  other  provisions  of  the  settlement  agreement,
    17  including  the  obligation  to  provide  the  full  consideration to the
    18  employee as set forth in the agreement.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    20  have become a law.


         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15424-03-0