NY State Senate Bill S8839

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

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view actions (1)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jul 21, 2020	referred to rules

Co-Sponsors

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Civil Service Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §130, Civ Serv L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S496

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for hazard duty pay of an additional twenty-five hundred dollars for essential work performed in accordance with a state emergency disaster declaration.

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S8839

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to hazard duty pay
for essential work performed in accordance with a state emergency disas-
ter declaration

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide for hazard pay to the state's essential employees charged
with maintaining services and managing the state's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the Civil Service Law to provide for the payment of
hazard pay to essential workers charged with the pandemic response
during a declared state of emergency.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In April 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor
called for hazard pay for the state's essential workers - those charged
with ensuring the continued operation of critical government services to
provide for the welfare, health and safety of all New Yorkers. Since
that time, many private hospitals, other health care facilities and
businesses have taken action to provide hazard pay and provide other
benefits like additional vacation time to their essential staff. Unfor-
tunately, the state has not yet taken any action to recognize and reward
its essential employees who sacrificed everything to help New Yorkers
adapt and survive the first round of COVID19.

These frontline workers include doctors, nurses and other healthcare
professionals at New York's understaffed public hospitals, the state
correctional facility staff and parole officers working to keep inmates
and parolees secure and communities safe, the workers at the state-oper-
ated residential facilities providing continuing care and treatment to
our most vulnerable citizens, the staff at the Department of Labor,
State Insurance Fund, Workers' Compensation Board, and the office of the
State Comptroller helping New Yorkers access unemployment, disability,
and workers' compensation benefits, the staff at the Department of
Health who are testing people for the virus and working to secure PPE
and effective treatment, and the essential staff at all of the agencies
that have been involved in supporting the various state's response
efforts.

Many of these workers contracted the virus in the performance of their
duties, in some instances, because of the lack of proper personal
protective equipment (PPE). These members literally put their lives on
the line to continue to perform their jobs at a time when many workers
were ordered to stay home.

This legislation would establish a long overdue hazard pay program as
well as provide two weeks of additional vacation time for essential
public employees so that these employees can prepare themselves and
their families for the likely resurgence of COVID-19 this fall if not
earlier.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been
in full force and effect as of March 1st, 2020.

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8839
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               July 21, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the civil service law, in relation to hazard duty pay
   for essential work performed in  accordance  with  a  state  emergency
   disaster declaration
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 130 of the civil service law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 15 to read as follows:
   15. ESSENTIAL WORKER HAZARD DUTY PAYMENTS  DURING  A  STATE  EMERGENCY
 DISASTER   DECLARATION.  (A)  ANY  STATE  EMPLOYEE  PROVIDING  ESSENTIAL
 SERVICES OR FUNCTIONS  DURING  ANY  STATE  DISASTER  EMERGENCY  DECLARED
 PURSUANT  TO  ARTICLE  TWO-B  OF  THE EXECUTIVE LAW AND DESIGNATED ON OR
 AFTER MARCH FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY AS AN ESSENTIAL  WORKER  PURSUANT
 TO  ANY  LAW,  RULE,  REGULATION  OR  EXECUTIVE ORDER SHALL BE AWARDED A
 HAZARDOUS DUTY PAY DIFFERENTIAL.
   (B) SUCH DIFFERENTIAL SHALL EQUAL TWENTY-FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS.  SUCH
 DIFFERENTIAL  SHALL  BE  IN  ADDITION TO SUCH ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEE'S BASIC
 ANNUAL SALARY, AND SHALL NOT AFFECT OR IMPAIR ANY  PERFORMANCE  ADVANCE-
 MENT PAYMENTS, PERFORMANCE AWARDS, LONGEVITY PAYMENTS OR OTHER RIGHTS OR
 BENEFITS  TO WHICH SUCH EMPLOYEE MAY BE ENTITLED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF
 THIS CHAPTER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY DIFFERENTIAL PAYABLE  PURSUANT
 TO  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  BE INCLUDED AS COMPENSATION FOR RETIREMENT
 PURPOSES. EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR THE HAZARD DUTY PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED  BY
 THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  ALSO  RECEIVE  THIRTY-FIVE HOURS OF ADDITIONAL
 VACATION TIME ACCRUAL.
   (C) THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUDGET SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS  TO  CARRY  OUT
 THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
 have been in full force and effect on and after March 1, 2020.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17013-01-0

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S8839

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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Co-Sponsors

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Details

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S8839

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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Co-Sponsors

Monica R. Martinez

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Details

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S8839 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments