NY State Senate Bill 2009-S3884

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to investigations and government operations
Apr 02, 2009	referred to investigations and government operations

co-Sponsors

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8184
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §297, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: A1860
2013-2014: A353
2015-2016: A1998
2017-2018: A3923
2019-2020: A2475
2021-2022: A1899

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Awards attorney fees and expert witness fees in employment discrimination cases.

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3884

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to providing for the
award of attorney's fees and expert witness fees in appropriate cases


 PURPOSE OF BILL :

This bill would amend the Executive Law. to provide for an award of
attorney's fees and expert witness fees in all appropriate cases of
discrimination.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would amend Executive Law § 297 (10) to omit the
phrase "(w)ith respect to cases of housing discrimination only," so
that attorney's fees. may be awarded in all appropriate cases of
discrimination and to provide that, in cases of employment
discrimination only, the award of attorney's fees will be limited to
cases in which the employer has 50 or more employees. This section
would also provide for expert witness fees to be awarded pursuant to
the same standards as an award of attorney's fees.

Section 2 would provide that the bill will become effective 90 days

after enactment.

 EXISTING LAW :

Currently attorney's fees may be awarded only in cases of housing
discrimination.. There are no provisions for expert witness fees.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new proposal.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT

In order to create uniformity and consistency within the Executive
Law, the limitation on the provision of attorney's fees to housing
discrimination cases should he removed so that attorney's fees can be
awarded in appropriate cases in other areas of the Division's
jurisdiction, such as employment and places of public accommodation.

The majority of cases filed under the Executive Law are employment
cases. Often, discrimination victims have been terminated, or forced
to leave their jobs because of intolerable conditions .such as
pervasive sexual harassment, and are frequently not in a position to
pay for legal representation. Although the law provides for Division
attorneys or agents to present cases at a public hearing when probable
cause has been found, there are no provisions for legal representation
in the investigation and conciliation stages of the Division
proceedings, nor are there provisions for representation for persons
who pursue their claims directly in State court.

A provision for an award of attorney's fees in employment and other
discrimination cases would be consistent with the discrimination laws
of many other states, as well federal law, and would permit a
more-robust enforcement of the law for the general benefit of the
public.

A wards for expenditure of fees for expert witnesses should be awarded
in a like manner, so that the Division will have the benefit of a
complete record in making its determinations.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

This proposal has no fiscal implications.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This proposal would take effect 90 days after becoming law.

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  3884

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 2, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sens. C. JOHNSON, DIAZ, ONORATO, SAVINO -- (at request of
  the Division of Human Rights) -- 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  providing  for  the
  award of attorney's fees and expert witness fees in appropriate cases

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

  Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 297  of  the  executive  law,  as
added  by  section  17  of part D of chapter 405 of the laws of 1999, is
amended to read as follows:
  10. [With respect to cases of housing discrimination only, in]  IN  an
action  or  proceeding  at law under this section or section two hundred
ninety-eight of this article, the commissioner or the court may  in  its
discretion  award  reasonable  attorney's  fees  to  any  prevailing  or
substantially prevailing party; provided,  however,  that  a  prevailing
respondent  or  defendant in order to recover such reasonable attorney's
fees must make a motion requesting such fees and show that the action or
proceeding brought  was  frivolous;  and  further  provided  that  in  a
proceeding brought in the division of human rights, the commissioner may
only award attorney's fees as part of a final order after a public hear-
ing  held pursuant to subdivision four of this section. In no case shall
attorney's fees be awarded to the division, nor shall  the  division  be
liable  to a prevailing or substantially prevailing party for attorney's
fees, except in a case in which the division is a party to the action or
the proceeding in the division's capacity as an employer.  WITH  RESPECT
TO CASES OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION ONLY, THE AWARD OF ATTORNEY'S FEES
WILL  BE  LIMITED TO THOSE CASES IN WHICH THE EMPLOYER HAS FIFTY OR MORE
EMPLOYEES. EXPERT WITNESS FEES MAY BE AWARDED  IN  THE  SAME  MANNER  AS
ATTORNEY'S  FEES. In order to find the action or proceeding to be frivo-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09042-01-9

S. 3884                             2

lous, the court or the commissioner must find in writing one or more  of
the following:
  (a)  the  action or proceeding was commenced, used or continued in bad
faith, solely to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation or to
harass or maliciously injure another; or
  (b) the action or proceeding was commenced or continued in  bad  faith
without  any reasonable basis and could not be supported by a good faith
argument for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law.  If
the  action  or  proceeding  was promptly discontinued when the party or
attorney learned or should have learned that the  action  or  proceeding
lacked such a reasonable basis, the court may find that the party or the
attorney did not act in bad faith.
  S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.

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Senate Bill S3884

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

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co-Sponsors

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Craig M. Johnson

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Ruben Diaz

Liz Krueger

George Onorato

Diane J. Savino

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S3884 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments