NY State Senate Bill 2019-S4129A

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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Actions

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 11, 2020	print number 4129a
Feb 11, 2020	amend and recommit to investigations and government operations
Jan 08, 2020	referred to investigations and government operations
Mar 01, 2019	referred to investigations and government operations

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

2019-S4129 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2475
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §297, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A8184
2011-2012: A1860
2013-2014: A353
2015-2016: A1998
2017-2018: A3923
2021-2022: S749, A1899

2019-S4129 - Summary

Awards attorney's fees and expert witness fees in appropriate cases.

2019-S4129 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4129

SPONSOR: BIAGGI
 
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 allow the
commissioner or the court in an action or proceeding (with respect to
cases of housing discrimination only) to award reasonable attorney's
fees to any prevailing or substantially prevailing part y, provided 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 was frivolous.  This section would also provide
for expert witness fees to be awarded pursuant to the same standards as
an award of attorney's fees.  This section also provides the standard
that the court would use to identify a frivolous action or proceeding.

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.

 
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 discrimi-
nation 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 investi-
gation 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 records
in *making its determinations.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18- A.3923 - Third Reading Calendar
2015-16-.1998-A- Third Reading Calendar.
2013-14- A.353-A- Referred to Judiciary
2011-12- A.1860- Referred to Codes
  2009-10- A.8184- Passed Assembly/S.3884- Referred to Investigations
and Governmental Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

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

2019-S4129 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4129
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 1, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment 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
 amended  by  chapter  364  of  the  laws  of 2015, is amended to read as
 follows:
   10. [With respect to all cases of housing discrimination  and  housing
 related  credit  discrimination  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; and
 with respect to a claim of employment or credit discrimination where sex
 is a basis of such discrimination, 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  attributable  to  such  claim to any 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 hearing 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 substan-
 tially 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 divi-
 sion's capacity as an employer. EXPERT WITNESS FEES MAY  BE  AWARDED  IN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01176-01-9

 S. 4129                             2
 
 THE  SAME  MANNER  AS  ATTORNEY'S FEES. In cases of employment discrimi-
 nation, a respondent shall only be liable for attorney's fees under this
 subdivision if the respondent has been found liable for having committed
 an  unlawful  discriminatory  practice.   In order to find the action or
 proceeding to be frivolous, 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.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

co-Sponsors

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2475
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §297, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A8184
2011-2012: A1860
2013-2014: A353
2015-2016: A1998
2017-2018: A3923
2021-2022: S749, A1899

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Awards attorney's fees and expert witness fees in appropriate cases.

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4129A

SPONSOR: BIAGGI
 
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 allow the
commissioner or the court in an action or proceeding (with respect to
cases of housing discrimination only) to award reasonable attorney's
fees to any prevailing or substantially prevailing party, provided 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 was frivolous. This section would also provide
for expert witness fees to be awarded pursuant to the same standards as
an award of attorney's fees. This section also provides the standard
that the court would use to identify a frivolous action or proceeding.

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.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In order to create uniformity and consistency within the Executive Law,
the limitation on the provision of attorney's fees to housing discrimi-
nation 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 investi-
gation 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. Awards 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.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18- A.3923 - Third Reading Calendar
2015-16-.1998-A- Third Reading Calendar
2013-14- A.353-A- Referred to Judiciary
2011-12- A.1860- Referred to Codes
2009-10- A.8184- Passed Assembly/S.3884- Referred to Investigations and
Governmental Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

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

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4129--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 1, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. BIAGGI, CARLUCCI, HOYLMAN, SALAZAR -- read twice and
   ordered  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
   Investigations and Government Operations -- recommitted to the Commit-
   tee on Investigations and Government  Operations  in  accordance  with
   Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 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
 amended  by  chapter  161  of  the  laws  of 2019, is amended to read as
 follows:
   10. [With respect to all cases of housing discrimination  and  housing
 related  credit  discrimination  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; and
 with respect to a claim of credit discrimination where sex is a basis of
 such discrimination, and  with  respect  to  all  claims  of  employment
 discrimination  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 attrib-
 utable  to such claim to any 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  hearing  held  pursuant  to  subdivision  four of this
 section. In no case shall attorney's fees be awarded  to  the  division,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01176-03-0

 S. 4129--A                          2
 
 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.  EXPERT WITNESS FEES MAY BE AWARDED IN THE SAME
 MANNER  AS  ATTORNEY'S  FEES.  In  cases of employment discrimination, a
 respondent shall only be liable for attorney's fees under this  subdivi-
 sion  if  the  respondent  has been found liable for having committed an
 unlawful discriminatory  practice.  In  order  to  find  the  action  or
 proceeding  to  be frivolous, 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S4129A

Sponsored By

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

Actions

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2019-S4129 - Details

2019-S4129 - Summary

2019-S4129 - Sponsor Memo

2019-S4129 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Alessandra Biaggi

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

Actions

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

David Carlucci

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Julia Salazar

2019-S4129 - Details

2019-S4129 - Summary

2019-S4129 - Sponsor Memo

2019-S4129 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

David Carlucci

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Julia Salazar

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S4129A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments