Senate Bill S7519

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7519

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting the "standing is
tiring (sit) act"

 
PURPOSE:

To enhance workplace safety and performance by allowing employees who
are reasonably able to sit during their jobs the option to do so.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The bill adds a new section 203-f to the labor law to require employers
to provide seats to all employees where the job reasonably allows seated
work, to prohibit employers from designing workplaces to require stand-
ing where not necessary, to require the Department of Labor to promul-
gate standards for whether the nature of an employee's work reasonably
permits sitting, and to establish a right of action again employers who
fail to meet these requirements.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Employees in many settings, especially retail and food service, are
required to stand for their entire shift. Employers often assert that
this is necessary for reasons associated with professionalism, efficien-
cy, and business needs. It is often necessary to stand while performing
work, but it also true that prolonged standing with minimal or no breaks
is not a necessity in many workplaces. According to a review by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, prolonged stand-
ing at work can even lead to numerous negative health outcomes. They
cite studies showing that prolonged standing lower back pain, fatigue,
muscle pain, tiredness, and body soreness, and can even pose risks of
cardiovascular problems and other serious issues. There are many changes
that employers can make to allow employees more options besides simply
standing for hours on end during their shifts; the simplest of these is
to provide employees who are reasonably able to perform their work
sitting the option to do so. This legislation presents a reasonable step
in this direction:  requiring employers to provide employees who can sit
with the ability to do so and preventing employers from constructing
workplaces to force prolonged standing unnecessarily.  This simple
change to New York's labor laws will provide relief and increase produc-
tivity for many of our hardest working neighbors.

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

To be determined

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  New legislation

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
One year after enactment