S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2685
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 20, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JOYNER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to dependent workers
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "dependent worker act".
   §  2.  Legislative findings and intent. 1. It is hereby declared to be
 the public policy of the state to ensure that laborers and other workers
 who depend for their livelihood on working for  others,  offering  their
 time,  labor and personal services in exchange for hourly wages or other
 compensation, are timely and fully paid  and  informed  regarding  their
 earnings, without the uncertainty, delay and denial that may result when
 their  employment status is disputed by claims that they are independent
 contractors rather than employees.
   2. It is further declared to be the public  policy  of  the  state  to
 ensure  that such dependent workers shall have the right to organize and
 bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing based
 on the state's constitutional recognition that the labor of human beings
 is not a commodity or an article of  commerce  and  shall  never  be  so
 considered or construed.
   3. The legislature finds that the ability of such dependent workers to
 find opportunities for work has been transformed by technology to expand
 day work to digital work, allowing workers to establish their availabil-
 ity  by  the minute and hour, rather than simply by the day. In light of
 this shift, the legislature finds that further examination is  warranted
 to  determine  the  extent  to  which  various  employment  benefits and
 substantive protections that were historic bargains  struck  with  input
 from labor and management, through bargaining, legislation, and adminis-
 trative  rate setting and rulemaking, should be extended to such digital
 work, regardless of employment status. The collective bargaining  oppor-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08737-01-1

 A. 2685                             2
 
 tunities  and  public  meetings  provided  through  this legislation can
 provide experience and input that is  not  currently  available  to  the
 legislature   to  inform  determinations  regarding  such  benefits  and
 substantive protections.
   4. This chapter shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the
 state  for the protection of the public welfare, prosperity, health, and
 peace of the people of the state.
   5. Nothing herein shall diminish the rights of any  worker,  including
 those  already  or prospectively determined by a court or administrative
 agency to be an employee.
   § 3. Section 2 of the labor law, is amended by adding a  new  subdivi-
 sion 19 to read as follows:
   19.  "DEPENDENT  WORKER"  MEANS  AN  INDIVIDUAL  WHO PROVIDES PERSONAL
 SERVICES TO A CONSUMER OF  SUCH  PERSONAL  SERVICES  THROUGH  A  PRIVATE
 SECTOR  THIRD-PARTY  THAT:  ESTABLISHES  THE GROSS AMOUNTS EARNED BY THE
 INDIVIDUAL; ESTABLISHES THE AMOUNTS CHARGED TO  THE  CONSUMER;  COLLECTS
 PAYMENT  FROM  THE  CONSUMER; PAYS THE INDIVIDUAL; OR ANY COMBINATION OF
 THE PRECEDING. THE TERM "DEPENDENT WORKER"  APPLIES  WITHOUT  REGARD  TO
 WHETHER  THE  INDIVIDUAL PROVIDES SUCH SERVICES IN THE NAME OF THE INDI-
 VIDUAL OR IN THE NAME OF A BUSINESS OR AS A  SEPARATE  BUSINESS  ENTITY,
 AND  WITHOUT REGARD TO WHETHER THE CONSUMER OF SUCH PERSONAL SERVICES IS
 AN INDIVIDUAL, BUSINESS, OTHER ENTITY, OR ANY  COMBINATION  THEREOF.  NO
 GOVERNMENTAL  ENTITY  SHALL  BE CONSIDERED A THIRD-PARTY FOR PURPOSES OF
 THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM "DEPENDENT WORKER". WHENEVER THE TERM EMPLOY-
 EE IS DEFINED BY LAW TO INCLUDE A DEPENDENT WORKER FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES,
 THEN FOR SUCH STATUTE AND PURPOSES A DEPENDENT WORKER SHALL BE DEEMED TO
 BE EMPLOYED BY THE THIRD-PARTY REFERENCED ABOVE, WHO SHALL BE DEEMED  TO
 BE  AN  EMPLOYER  ENGAGED IN AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP WITH A DEPENDENT
 WORKER, UNLESS OTHERWISE EXCLUDED FROM SUCH STATUTE OR PURPOSES.   WORK-
 ERS  CLASSIFIED  AS  EMPLOYEES  BY  OTHER MEANS OR WHO SATISFY ANY OTHER
 LEGAL TEST FOR EMPLOYMENT,  INCLUDING  THOSE  ALREADY  OR  PROSPECTIVELY
 DETERMINED  BY  A  COURT OR ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY TO BE EMPLOYEES, SHALL
 NOT HAVE ANY RIGHTS OR PROTECTIONS DIMINISHED  BY  APPLICATION  OF  THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   §  4. Subdivision 2 of section 190 of the labor law, as added by chap-
 ter 548 of the laws of 1966, is amended to read as follows:
   2. "Employee" means any person employed for hire by an employer in any
 employment AND FOR PURPOSES OF  SECTIONS  ONE  HUNDRED  NINETY-ONE,  ONE
 HUNDRED NINETY-TWO, ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE AND ONE HUNDRED NINETY-SIX-D
 OF  THIS  ARTICLE, AS WELL AS ANY REGULATIONS ADOPTED THEREUNDER AND ANY
 PROVISIONS RELATING  TO  THE  ENFORCEMENT  OF  SUCH  SECTIONS  INCLUDING
 SECTIONS  ONE  HUNDRED NINETY-SIX, ONE HUNDRED NINETY-SIX-A, ONE HUNDRED
 NINETY-SEVEN, ONE HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT, ONE HUNDRED NINETY-EIGHT-A,  TWO
 HUNDRED  ELEVEN,  TWO HUNDRED THIRTEEN, TWO HUNDRED FIFTEEN, TWO HUNDRED
 EIGHTEEN, TWO HUNDRED NINETEEN, AND TWO HUNDRED NINETEEN-C OF THIS CHAP-
 TER, SHALL INCLUDE A DEPENDENT WORKER, AS DEFINED BY SECTION TWO OF THIS
 CHAPTER.
   § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 701 of  the  labor  law  is  amended  by
 adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
   (D)  THE  TERM  "EMPLOYEE"  SHALL  ALSO INCLUDE A DEPENDENT WORKER, AS
 DEFINED BY SECTION TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, OF
 ARTICLE TWENTY-A, AND OF SECTIONS TWO HUNDRED EIGHT, TWO  HUNDRED  NINE,
 TWO HUNDRED NINE-A, AND TWO HUNDRED ELEVEN-A OF THIS CHAPTER, AS WELL AS
 ANY  REGULATIONS  PROMULGATED  THEREUNDER AND ANY PROVISIONS RELATING TO
 THE ENFORCEMENT OF SUCH ARTICLE  AND  SECTIONS  INCLUDING  SECTIONS  ONE

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 HUNDRED  NINETY-SIX,  ONE  HUNDRED NINETY-SIX-A, TWO HUNDRED ELEVEN, TWO
 HUNDRED THIRTEEN, AND TWO HUNDRED FIFTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER.
   §  6. The commissioner of labor shall hold public meetings with repre-
 sentatives of businesses, employees and  dependent  workers  to  examine
 various state labor and related laws that regulate employment rights and
 benefits  to  identify  which  provisions  could  be extended to provide
 dependent workers with the same, or  similar,  rights  and  benefits  as
 employees have, consistent with the underlying purposes of each statuto-
 ry  scheme  without substantially curtailing opportunities for dependent
 workers to earn income sufficient to provide  adequate  maintenance  for
 themselves and their families, and whether changes should be made to the
 definition  of  dependent  worker,  as defined by section 2 of the labor
 law.
   § 7. The commissioner of labor may hold separate meetings, or  convene
 committees, to examine different industries and services, including, but
 not  limited  to personal transportation (including taxis, black car and
 ride sharing services), local delivery  (including  messenger  and  food
 delivery  services),  and various personal services (including temporary
 staffing services, cleaning services, and custom errand services).
   § 8. The commissioner of labor shall make a report of his or her find-
 ings to the governor, the temporary president of  the  senate,  and  the
 speaker  of  the  assembly, within one year of the first public meeting.
 Such report shall include recommendations for further action and  legis-
 lation.
   § 9. The provisions of law to be examined by the commissioner of labor
 shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
   a. social safety net employment laws, including:
   i.  compensation  for the unemployed, under the unemployment insurance
 law, under article 18 of the labor law;
   ii. compensation and  medical  benefits  for  workplace  injuries  and
 illnesses under articles 1-8 of the workers' compensation law;
   iii.  compensation for non-workplace disability and family leave bene-
 fits under the disability benefits law and the paid family  leave  bene-
 fits law under article 9 of the workers' compensation law;
   iv.  notices  and compensation for workers laid off due to plant clos-
 ings under the New York state worker adjustment and retraining notifica-
 tion (WARN) act, under article 25-A of the labor law; and
   v. notification of  continuation  of  coverage  for  health  insurance
 following termination under section 217 of the labor law.
   b.  anti-discrimination,  opportunity and privacy protections, includ-
 ing:
   i. equal opportunity and  anti-discrimination  employment  protections
 under the human rights law under article 15 of the executive law;
   ii. licensure and employment of persons previously convicted of one or
 more criminal offenses under article 23-A of the correction law;
   iii. related posting and sexual harassment training requirements under
 sections 201-f and 201-g of the labor law;
   iv. prohibition on use of lie detectors and other psychological stress
 evaluators in employment under article 20-B of the labor law;
   v.  prohibition  on  finger  printing under section 201-a of the labor
 law;
   vi. employee privacy in connection with changing rooms, personal iden-
 tifying information, physical examinations  and  nursing  mothers  under
 sections 203-c, 203-d, 206-a and 206-c of the labor law;
   vii.  various  prohibitions  on discrimination based on child-care for
 adoptive parents, lawful outside activities, for failure to meet  ticket

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 quotas  and  displaying  the  American flag under sections 201-c, 201-d,
 215-a and 215-c of the labor law; and
   viii.   anti-retaliation   and   anti-discrimination   protections  in
 connection with workers' compensation  and  labor  laws  under  sections
 210-a and 215 of the labor law.
   c. laws regarding payment of wages, including:
   i.  payment  of  wages  and related protections under article 6 of the
 labor law;
   ii. minimum wages and related protections under the minimum  wage  act
 under article 19 of the labor law; and
   iii.  payment  of fees for medical exams required for employment under
 section 201-b of the labor law.
   d. laws regulating hours of work, including:
   i. employment of minors hours and permitting under article  4  of  the
 labor law;
   ii.  child  performers  hours,  education and trust requirements under
 article 4-A of the labor law;
   iii. hours of labor and day of rest requirements under  article  5  of
 the labor law; and
   iv.  leave  of  absences  for volunteer emergency first responders and
 following child-birth under sections 202-l and 206-b of the labor law.
   e. laws regulating safety and health, including:
   i. right to know protections under the toxic substances provisions  of
 article 28 of the labor law; and
   ii.  protections  in  connection  with  window  cleaning,  bridges and
 tunnels, hotels and motels,  eating  in  certain  workrooms,  factories,
 high-voltage  lines,  mercantile  establishments,  mines, explosives and
 places of public assembly under sections 202, 202-e, 202-f,  202-h,  205
 and articles 11, 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the labor law.
   §  10.  This  act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.