BILL NUMBER: S7660

SPONSOR: SAVINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to increasing
protection against retaliation for public employees and provides an
affirmative defense

 
PURPOSE:

To prevent the public employer from dismissing or taking disciplinary
action or other adverse personnel action and to provide for an affirma-
tive defense in any disciplinary process or employer action against a
public employee under circumstances where the employee fails to perform
a duty or action as the result of a reasonable belief that such perform-
ance may invoke disrepute, public scorn or community unrest.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 1 - adds a new paragraph (b) to section 75B of the civil service law -
              

Precludes the public employer from dismissing or taking any other
adverse employment action against a public employee when the employee
notifies the employer and fails to perform a duty and/or action if they
reasonably believe that said action will is deemed improper by any
group, person, body, organization, legislative representative or social
networking platform.

§ 2 - adds a new subdivision 3-a to section 75B of the civil service law
to provide for an affirmative defense in any disciplinary or other
adverse personnel action against a public employee regarding the employ-
ee's employment because the employee failed to perform a duty and/or
action as prescribed under federal, state or local law or regulation if
the employee reasonably believed that such duty and/or action may invoke
community unrest, public scorn or societal backlash by any group,
person, body, organization, legislative representative or social
networking platform.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Section 1 of this act addresses a disparity in current law that gives
certain employee protections from disciplinary and adverse employment
actions, when the employee notifies the employer prior to taking action
of conditions that may create a "substantial and specific danger".

Section 2 of this act provides a new affirmative defense for public
employees when they are subjects of disciplinary or other adverse
personnel action when the employee fails to perform a duty and/or action
as prescribed under federal, state or local law or regulation if the
employee reasonably believes that such duty and/or action may invoke
community unrest. public scorn or societal backlash by any group,
person, body, organization legislative representative or social network-
ing platform.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Historically, public employees were disciplined and terminated from
employment as the result of actions that were against the law or regu-
lations as set forth by their employer. Most recently, public employees
have become the targets of public ridicule and assaultive behavior mere-
ly for doing the jobs they were hired to perform. More and more, public
employees are held up to public scorn as the result of duty-bound
actions that are not only expected as civil servants but also mandated
as primary duties in their employment. Yet, organized groups, individ-
uals as well as elected leaders routinely attack public employees' duty-
bound actions on social networking platforms as repugnant to some sort
of artificially established public policy that arbitrary, special or
unique standards should apply to specific citizens based on their unique
circumstances in our society. Such a ramshackle approach to public
services has devolved into an inconsistent understanding by our public
employees of what is expected of them in performing their public duties.
Moreover, as such, disciplinary processes have failed to keep up with
the evolving nature or our unclear public policies.

This act will bring up to date the ability of public employees to invoke
protections from disciplinary process if they fail to act in circum-
stances where they reasonably believe that they may be subjects of
public scorn or societal backlash by the same people who authored laws
that caused such public backlash.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill 2019/20 Session

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
30 days after becoming law