NY State Senate Bill S749

Current Bill Status - Signed by Governor

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

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Actions

view actions (14)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Nov 03, 2021	approval memo.30 signed chap.566
Oct 22, 2021	delivered to governor
May 20, 2021	returned to senate passed assembly ordered to third reading cal.72 substituted for a1899 referred to codes delivered to assembly passed senate
Feb 03, 2021	advanced to third reading
Feb 02, 2021	2nd report cal.
Feb 01, 2021	1st report cal.209
Jan 06, 2021	referred to investigations and government operations

Votes

view votes

May 20, 2021 - floor Vote

S749

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Feb 1, 2021 - Investigations and Government Operations committee Vote

S749

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Co-Sponsors

S749 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1899
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
2019-2020: S4129, A2475

S749 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

S749 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S749

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 be 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:

2019-2020: A2475A/S4129A - Died on the Third Reading 2475A/Died in
Investigations and Government Operations

2017-2018: A3923 - Died on the Third Reading

2015-2016: A1998 - Died on the Third Reading

2013-2014: A353A - Died in Judiciary

2011-2012: A1860 - Died in Codes

2009-2010: A8184/S3884 - Passed Assembly/Died in Investigations and
Governmental Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

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

S749 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    749
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. BIAGGI, HOYLMAN, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi-
   gations and Government 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  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,
 nor  shall  the  division  be  liable  to  a prevailing or substantially
 prevailing party for attorney's fees, except in  a  case  in  which  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02894-01-1

 S. 749                              2
 
 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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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S749

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

May 20, 2021 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: May 20, 2021

Feb 1, 2021 - Investigations and Government Operations committee Vote

Investigations and Government Operations Committee Vote: Feb 1, 2021

Co-Sponsors

S749 (ACTIVE) - Details

S749 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S749 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S749 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S749

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Sponsored By

Alessandra Biaggi

Current Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

May 20, 2021 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: May 20, 2021

Feb 1, 2021 - Investigations and Government Operations committee Vote

Investigations and Government Operations Committee Vote: Feb 1, 2021

Co-Sponsors

Brad Hoylman

Julia Salazar

S749 (ACTIVE) - Details

S749 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S749 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S749 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments