NY State Senate Bill 2017-S5678

Senate Bill S5678

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to the applicability of certain provisions with respect to persons injured in the use of scaffolding and other devices for use by employees in any action outside of the city of New York

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - Stricken

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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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 26, 2017	recommit, enacting clause stricken
Apr 25, 2017	referred to judiciary

2017-S5678 (ACTIVE) - Details

Law Section:: Civil Practice Law and Rules
Laws Affected:: Ren §1413 to be §1414, add §1413, CPLR

2017-S5678 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the applicability of certain provisions with respect to persons injured in the use of scaffolding and other devices for use by employees in any action outside of the city of New York.

2017-S5678 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S5678

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
applicability of certain provisions with respect to persons injured in
the use of scaffolding and other devices for use by employees

 PURPOSE :

Establishes a comparative negligence standard for claims, outside the
City of New York, under Labor Law sections 240,241 or 241-a with
respect to a recalcitrant worker.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Amends the Civil Practice Law and Rules to add a new Section 1413.
This section applies a comparative negligence standard as provided for
in CPLR 1411 with respect to actions for personal injury, property
damage or wrongful death arising under Labor Law Sections 240, 241 or
241-a to the extent the conduct relates to the following:  a criminal
act, use of drugs or alcohol, failure of the employee to use safety
devices furnished at the job site, failure to comply with employer
instructions regarding the use of safety devices at the job site, or
failure of the employee to comply with safe work practices in accord
with safety training programs provided by the employer.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The construction industry is currently facing a liability insurance
crisis. Contractors are receiving insurance cancellation notices and
being forced to seek coverage from non-admitted carriers with
exclusions from coverages at exorbitant rate increases. Many
contractors are concerned that existing coverage no matter how limited
will also evaporate from the market. This insurance coverage crisis is
especially difficult for smaller contractors. Many insurance carriers
who have withdrawn from the market are citing the costs associated
with absolute liability pursuant to the so called safe place to work
law provided for in the aforementioned provisions of the Labor Law.

This legislation attempts to take a limited approach to this problem
by applying comparative negligence standards to a recalcitrant worker.
This approach falls significantly short of repeal but attempts to
contain the costs of absolute liability in a fair manner by making an
employee who directly contributes to his injury liable for the portion
of fault assessed by a jury for his own conduct. This comparative
negligence standard is only applied in limited circumstances such as
commission of a criminal act, use of drugs or alcohol, failure to use
safety devices at the job site, failure to comply with employer
instructions regarding the use of safety devices at the job site or
failure of the employee to comply with safe work practices in accord
with a safety program provided by the employer.  The latter provision
encourages employers to afford training certified by OSHA or the State
Labor Department to its employees.

This bill does not take away the right of any injured worker to sue.
Rather it makes a recalcitrant worker responsible for his own conduct.
This approach encourages workplace safety by encouraging workers to
take responsibility for their own safety. There are conflicting court
cases that apply the doctrine of recalcitrant worker and this bill
would clarify worker responsibility. This bill would establish a
uniform standard for the application of the recalcitrant worker
doctrine. It also is a modest change in the absolute liability of the
safe place to work statute that remains the only such statute in place
among the other 49 states.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S5678 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5678
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 25, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules,  in  relation  to  the
   applicability of certain provisions with respect to persons injured in
   the use of scaffolding and other devices for use by employees

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 1413 of the civil practice law and rules is  renum-
 bered section 1414 and a new section 1413 is added to read as follows:
   §  1413.    APPLICABILITY  TO  CERTAIN  ACTIONS. 1.   IN ANY ACTION OR
 PROCEEDING OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK AND  THE  COUNTIES  CONTAINED
 THEREIN,  TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURY, INJURY TO PROPERTY, OR
 WRONGFUL DEATH PURSUANT TO SECTION TWO HUNDRED FORTY,  SUBDIVISIONS  ONE
 THROUGH  FIVE  OF  SECTION TWO HUNDRED FORTY-ONE, OR SECTION TWO HUNDRED
 FORTY-ONE-A OF THE LABOR LAW, WHERE SAFETY  EQUIPMENT  OR  DEVICES  HAVE
 BEEN  MADE AVAILABLE, AND A PERSON EMPLOYED OR OTHERWISE ENTITLED TO THE
 PROTECTION OF THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH SECTION HAS FAILED TO FOLLOW SAFETY
 INSTRUCTIONS  OR  SAFE  WORK  PRACTICES  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH   TRAINING
 PROVIDED,  OR FAILED TO UTILIZE PROVIDED SAFETY EQUIPMENT OR DEVICES, OR
 ENGAGED IN A CRIMINAL ACT OR WAS IMPAIRED BY THE USE OF DRUGS  OR  ALCO-
 HOL,  AND  SUCH  FAILURE,  ACT  OR IMPAIRMENT IS A PROXIMATE CAUSE OF AN
 INJURY TO SUCH PERSON, THE CONDUCT ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH PERSON SHALL NOT
 BAR RECOVERY, BUT THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGES OTHERWISE RECOVERABLE  SHALL  BE
 DETERMINED  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH SECTION FOURTEEN HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THIS
 ARTICLE TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH CONDUCT RELATES TO THE COMMISSION  OF  A
 CRIMINAL  ACT,  IMPAIRMENT  CAUSED  BY  THE USE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, THE
 FAILURE TO USE SAFETY EQUIPMENT OR DEVICES, THE FAILURE TO  COMPLY  WITH
 INSTRUCTIONS  OR  TRAINING  REGARDING  THE  USE  OF  SAFETY EQUIPMENT OR
 DEVICES OR THE FAILURE TO OTHERWISE COMPLY WITH SAFE WORK  PRACTICES  IN
 ACCORDANCE  WITH  SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS PROVIDED TO SUCH PERSON. SUCH
 TRAINING PROGRAMS SHALL INCLUDE, BUT SHALL NOT BE LIMITED TO, COURSES IN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD11197-01-7

 S. 5678                             2
 
 CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AND HEALTH CERTIFIED BY THE  UNITED  STATES  OCCUPA-
 TIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION OR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
   2.  NOTHING  CONTAINED  IN  THIS  SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO IMPOSE OR
 CREATE LIABILITY UNDER SUCH SECTIONS OF THE LABOR  LAW  REFERRED  TO  IN
 SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS SECTION, WHERE A PERSON EMPLOYED OR OTHERWISE
 ENTITLED TO THE PROTECTION OF THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH SECTIONS HAS FAILED
 TO FOLLOW SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS OR SAFE WORK PRACTICES IN ACCORDANCE  WITH
 TRAINING  PROVIDED,  OR  FAILED  TO UTILIZE PROVIDED SAFETY EQUIPMENT OR
 DEVICES, OR ENGAGED IN A CRIMINAL ACT OR WAS  IMPAIRED  BY  THE  USE  OF
 DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, AND SUCH FAILURE, ACT OR IMPAIRMENT IS THE SOLE PROXI-
 MATE CAUSE OF AN INJURY TO SUCH PERSON.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
 causes of actions accruing on or after such date.

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