S3367-2013 Actions

• Feb 1, 2013: REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

S3367-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3367

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the executive law, in relation to
requiring employers to make a conditional offer of employment before
inquiring about any criminal convictions of a prospective employee

PURPOSE:  This bill will curtail unlawful discriminatory practices
against persons with criminal records and help to ensure that employers
abide by the provisions of Article 23-A of the correction law.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the Human Rights Law to provide that no
employer may ask about a criminal conviction unless such employer first
makes a conditional offer of employment. Such offer could then be with-
drawn in accordance with Article 23-A of the correction law where there
is a direct relationship between the employment and the conviction and
hiring the person would threaten public safety or property.

Section 2 of the bill provides that the act shall take effect on the
ninetieth day after it shall have become law.

JUSTIFICATION:  Upon return to the community following incarceration,
individuals are expected to find and maintain gainful employment. Find-
ing effective ways to manage their reentry into the workforce is crit-
ical to promoting public safety and curbing recidivism rates and the
high costs of re-incarceration. Unfortunately, many employers maintain
blanket barriers to employment based solely on criminal conviction
records even when the conviction may be completely unrelated to the job
sought and no threat to the public or property is present.

Article 23-A of the correction law prohibits discrimination against a
person with a criminal record unless the duties or responsibilities of
the job or license sought are directly related to the conviction.  This
bill will help to ensure that employers abide by the standards of Arti-
cle 23A and do-not automatically disqualify applicants based only on a
criminal conviction.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  Successful re-entry and re-integration of formerly
incarcerated individuals will increase state revenues through the inclu-
sion of thousands of able-bodied, "taxpaying citizens" to the state's
workforce; additional savings to the state will inure from a reduction
in costs associated with recidivism, re-incarceration and social
services.

S3367-2013 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                         3367
 2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 February 1, 2013
 
 Introduced  by Sens. HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY -- read twice
 and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
 on Investigations and Government Operations
 

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring employers to
 make a conditional offer of  employment  before  inquiring  about  any
 criminal convictions of a prospective employee
 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section 1.

Section 296 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 15-a to read as follows:

 15-A. IT SHALL BE AN UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE, UNLESS  SPECIF
 ICALLY  REQUIRED  OR PERMITTED BY STATUTE, FOR ANY PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER,
 INCLUDING  ANY  PERSON,  AGENCY,  BUREAU,  CORPORATION  OR  ASSOCIATION,
 INCLUDING  THE  STATE  AND ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THEREOF, TO MAKE AN
 INQUIRY ABOUT, WHETHER IN ANY FORM OF APPLICATION OR  OTHERWISE,  OR  TO
 ACT  UPON  ADVERSELY TO THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED BASED UPON, ANY CRIMINAL
 CONVICTION OF SUCH INDIVIDUAL UNLESS SUCH EMPLOYER FIRST MAKES A  CONDI
 TIONAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT TO SUCH INDIVIDUAL. SUCH CONDITIONAL OFFER OF
 EMPLOYMENT MAY ONLY SUBSEQUENTLY BE WITHDRAWN ON THE BASIS OF A CRIMINAL
 CONVICTION  IN  ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE TWENTY-THREE-A OF THE CORRECTION
 LAW WHERE SUCH CONVICTION BEARS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP, AS SUCH  TERM  IS
 DEFINED  IN  SUBDIVISION  THREE  OF  SECTION  SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY OF THE
 CORRECTION LAW, TO THE SPECIFIC POSITION BEING OFFERED, OR THE  GRANTING
 OF  SUCH EMPLOYMENT WOULD INVOLVE AN UNREASONABLE RISK TO PROPERTY OR TO
 THE SAFETY OR WELFARE OF SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD06254-01-3

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