Authorizes minors who are 14 or older and are active members of a religious community to engage or assist in employment which such minors are otherwise prohibited from performing; requires such minors to be supervised by an adult member of such religious community.

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S767-2011 Actions

• Jun 12, 2012: referred to labor
• Jun 12, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 12, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• Jan 23, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Jan 19, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Jan 18, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.41
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO LABOR
• Jan 4, 2012: returned to senate
• Jan 4, 2012: died in assembly
• May 3, 2011: referred to labor
• May 3, 2011: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• May 3, 2011: PASSED SENATE
• Mar 3, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Mar 2, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Mar 1, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.117
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO LABOR

S767-2011 Meetings

Labor: Jan 18, 2012, Labor: Mar 1, 2011

S767-2011 Calendars

Active List: May 3, 2011 , Active List: Jun 12, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jan 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jan 23, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jan 24, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jan 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jan 31, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 7, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 15, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 29, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 1, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 3, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 5, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 7, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 8, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 9, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 10, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 12, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 15, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 20, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 21, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 21, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 22, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 22, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 26, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 27, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 28, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 28, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 29, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 29, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 30, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 31, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 4, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 5, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 11, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 12, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 17, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 18, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 25, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 26, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 1, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 2, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 3, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 7, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 8, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 9, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 15, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 16, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 21, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 22, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 31, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 4, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 5, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 11, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 12, 2012

S767-2011 Votes

S767-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S767

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the labor law, in relation to authorizing minors fourteen years
of age or older, working as part of a religious community of which
they are a member, to be employed in or assist in certain activities

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to provide a religious exemption to
current labor laws to allow minors from the age of 14 to 17 years old
who are members of a religious community such as the Old Order Amish,
to engage in certain work activities within the religious community
when under adult supervision.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one adds a new subdivision 7 to section 131 and a new
subdivision 6 to section 132 of the labor law to allow minors
fourteen to fifteen years old who are members of a religious
community to be exempt from current law that prohibits minors from
working with and around heavy machinery.

Section 3 adds a new paragraph c to section 133 of the labor law to
provide that exempted minors shall at all times be under the
supervision of an adult who is an active member of the same religious
community when working with and around heavy machinery.

JUSTIFICATION:

Religious groups such as the Old Order Amish have been established as
peaceful communities in New York state for generations. They are
constitutionally guaranteed the right to practice their faith without
interference by government. The Amish have been able to maintain
their traditions, beliefs and practices without dispute or
controversy in New York and have long been contributing members and
an asset to their local communities.

The Amish are taught to work at an early age and are trained for the
family business at the end of the eighth grade. They are mentored
during this work while engaged in activities such as woodworking,
saw-milling and other work with heavy machinery.

As currently enforced, NYS child labor laws prohibit the Amish from
training their children in the very areas of employment that their
livelihood has depended on for decades. Without the exemption
provided in this bill, the whole Amish way of life is in danger of
being altered. Further, the values of work and responsibility taught
to each generation, which are an integral part of the Amish
existence, may be destroyed without the religious protection provided
in this bill.

New York State has a responsibility to ensure religious freedom but
also to ensure that minors are protected at all times, so this bill


would require adult supervision of minors in the Amish community when
working with such heavy machinery.

The Federal Government passed a similar religious exemption for the
Amish, under the Clinton administration in 1998. That legislation
allowed individual states such as New York to enact religious
exemptions to their state labor laws. This bill would help to protect
the constitutional freedom of this religious community by providing a
similar religious exemption in state labor law to federal labor law,
while ensuring safety of minors through their direct supervision.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2009-2010: S.2266/A.2252 Referred to Labor
2007-2008: S.3552/A.6929 Passed Senate

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.

S767-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     767

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

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

  AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to authorizing  minors  four-
    teen  years  of age or older, working as part of a religious community
    of which they are a member, to be employed in  or  assist  in  certain
    activities

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


    Section 1. Section 131 of the labor law is amended  by  adding  a  new
  subdivision 7 to read as follows:

    7.  NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO PROHIBIT THE EMPLOYMENT
  OF OR ASSISTANCE IN EMPLOYMENT BY A MINOR FOURTEEN OR FIFTEEN  YEARS  OF
  AGE  WHO IS THE MEMBER OF A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH
  C OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE OF THIS ARTI-
  CLE.
    S 2. Section 132 of the labor law is amended by adding a new  subdivi-
  sion 6 to read as follows:

    6.  NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO PROHIBIT THE EMPLOYMENT
  OF OR ASSISTANCE IN EMPLOYMENT BY A MINOR SIXTEEN OR SEVENTEEN YEARS  OF
  AGE  WHO IS THE MEMBER OF A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH
  C OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE OF THIS ARTI-
  CLE.
    S 3. Subdivision 3 of section 133 of  the  labor  law  is  amended  by
  adding a new paragraph c to read as follows:

    C.  THE  PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY
  TO ANY MINOR FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, WHEN SUCH MINOR IS EMPLOYED
  BY OR ASSISTS IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, OF WHICH  SUCH
  MINOR  IS  AN  ACTIVE MEMBER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT AT ALL TIMES WHILE
  SUCH A MINOR IS ENGAGED OR ASSISTING IN OTHERWISE PROHIBITED EMPLOYMENT,
  HE OR SHE SHALL BE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A PERSON EIGHTEEN  YEARS  OF

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD02498-01-1

 S. 767                              2

  AGE  OR OLDER WHO IS AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE SAME RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AS
  THE SUPERVISED MINOR.  AN AFFIDAVIT SIGNED BY  THE  PARENT,  PARENTS  OR
  GUARDIAN  OF SUCH A MINOR, STATING THAT SUCH PARENT, PARENTS OR GUARDIAN
  HOLD THE GENUINE AND SINCERE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNI-
  TY  AND  THAT  THE MINOR IS AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF SUCH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
  SHALL CONSTITUTE PROOF THAT SUCH MINOR MAY BE SO EMPLOYED OR  ASSIST  IN
  SUCH  EMPLOYMENT.  THE PARENT, PARENTS OR GUARDIAN SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED
  TO SPECIFY OR ELABORATE ON THE NATURE, GENUINENESS OR SINCERITY  OF  THE
  RELIGIOUS BELIEF OR BE SUBJECT TO ANY FURTHER INQUIRY.
    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.