BILL NUMBER:S3492

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act to amend the executive law, in relation to
providing for awards of attorney's fees in  actions  under  the  human
rights law

PURPOSE:    To provide access to justice to those who cannot afford it
in actions or proceedings relating to the state human rights law.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Provides for an award of reasonable attorneys fees  at  the
commissioner or court's discretion.

Section 2: Provides the act shall take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:    Unlike  New York City's Human Rights Law, and unlike
federal civil rights law, New York State's Human Rights Law (HRL) does
not provide for the possibility  of  reasonable  attorneys  fees.  The
purpose  for  permitting  plaintiff's attorneys) to receive reasonable
attorneys fees is to increase the remedies  available  to  victims  of
discrimination.

As  of  2010,  92%  of  all  complaints  filed with the New York State
Division of Human Rights (DHR) were for disability  discrimination  or
employment  matters,  which do not include a right to attorney's fees.
              

Although the HRL provides  a  right  to  attorneys  fees  for  housing
discrimination  cases  (see, N.Y. Exec. Law § 297(10)), they only made
up 8% of DHR's cases in 2010.

The  HRL  has  the  potential  to  offer  New  Yorkers  civil   rights
protections  beyond  federal law, but these rights may not be realized
without the provision of attorney's fees. The failure of  the  HRL  to
provide  for attorneys fee in non-housing related discrimination cases
severely limits the protections afforded under the Human  Rights  Law.
Furthermore,  it  is  the  exact  opposite of the federal civil rights
statutes upon which the HRL was modeled. Consequently, even though the
HRL's  protections  of  individuals  is  relatively  similar  to  that
provided by federal civil rights statutes, because it does not provide
for  an  award of attorneys fees, many plaintiffs are unable to pursue
the vindication of their rights. That is why when the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 was passed, Congress added attorneys fees so that  enforcement
could rely in part upon private litigation to secure compliance.

The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988,
is  one  of  the  most  widely  used statutory instruments to award of
attorneys' fees in federal civil rights cases. Congress enacted § 1988
to ensure that low-income individuals  could  effectively  access  the
courts  to  enforce civil rights laws. The determination of attorneys'
fees under § 1988 is also the same  analysis  used  under  Title  VII,
Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The  New  York  City  Human  Rights  Law (NYCHRL) and other state laws
already provide for attorney's fees. Attorneys fees under  the  NYCHRL
have  been authorized since 1991 and provide that: in any civil action
commenced pursuant to this section, the court, in its discretion,  may


award  the  prevailing  party  costs  and reasonable attorney's fees."
After twenty-two years of low-income plaintiffs  effectively  pursuing
the  vindication  of their rights under the NYCHRL, it is time for New
York to amend the HRL to extend similarly effective protections to the
rest of the state.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  None. It is a new bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.