Assembly Bill A278

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    278
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. CRUZ, FORREST, ZACCARO, GALLAGHER, GONZALEZ-RO-
   JAS, STIRPE, WEPRIN,  BORES,  HEVESI,  PAULIN,  RIVERA,  RAGA,  RAMOS,
   SHRESTHA,  SIMON, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, the executive law and the  civil  service
   law,  in  relation to enacting the New York emergency expedited tempo-
   rary work permit act; and providing for the repeal of such  provisions
   upon the expiration thereof
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "New  York
 emergency expedited temporary work permit act".
   § 2.  Legislative finding and intent.  The federal immigration law has
 become outdated and an impediment to New York state's ability to quickly
 and properly integrate asylum seekers allowed to enter the United States
 of  America.     Current federal law requires that an asylum seeker wait
 150 days before applying for a work permit.  Current work permit  appli-
 cations can take anywhere from 5 months to 14 months to process, leaving
 asylum  seekers  without  the  legal paperwork to support themselves and
 their families.  Asylum seekers desperate to provide shelter, food,  and
 living  expenses  for  themselves  and their families are forced to work
 without proper documentation leaving  them  open  to  exploitation  from
 employers that range from working in dangerous conditions without train-
 ing  to  having  their  wages  stolen.    In view of the current federal
 inaction to expedite federal work permit applications for  asylum  seek-
 ers, it is incumbent on New York state to exercise its state's constitu-
 tional  duties  and  the  powers  reserved  to  states under the federal
 constitution and enact a worker permit program.
   § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 4-B to  read  as
 follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01235-01-5
 A. 278                              2
 
                                ARTICLE 4-B
                       ASYLEE WORKER PERMIT PROGRAM
 SECTION 155. DEFINITIONS.
         156. ASYLEE WORKER PERMIT PROGRAM.
         157. RULES AND REGULATIONS.
         158. CONSTRUCTION.
   § 155. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE:
   1.  THE  TERM  "ASYLEE"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED IN THE
 FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT  (8 U.S.C. § 1101) PROVIDED THAT
 FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE SUCH TERM SHALL  INCLUDE  BOTH  ASYLEES
 WHO  HAVE  FILED FEDERAL PAPERWORK TO OBTAIN ASYLUM STATUS AND THOSE WHO
 ARE IN THE PROCESS OF FILING SUCH APPLICATION.
   2. THE TERM "EMPLOYMENT" SHALL INCLUDE EMPLOYMENT IN BOTH THE  PRIVATE
 AND PUBLIC SECTORS.
   §  156. ASYLEE WORKER PERMIT PROGRAM. 1. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ESTAB-
 LISH A TEMPORARY PROGRAM FOR THE EXPEDITED ISSUANCE OF WORK  PERMITS  BY
 THE  DEPARTMENT TO ASYLUM SEEKERS RESIDING IN NEW YORK WITHIN FORTY-FIVE
 DAYS OF APPLICATION.
   2. NO FEES SHALL BE CHARGED FOR THE ISSUANCE OF ASYLEE WORKER PERMITS.
   3. PERMITS ISSUED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE VALID FOR  A  PERIOD  OF
 EIGHTEEN  MONTHS  FROM  ISSUANCE,  BUT  MAY BE RENEWED PURSUANT TO REGU-
 LATIONS ADOPTED BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   § 157. RULES AND REGULATIONS. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE  EMER-
 GENCY  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  FOR  THE  ISSUANCE  OF WORKER PERMITS TO
 ASYLEES WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION.
   § 158. CONSTRUCTION. NOTHING CONTAINED WITHIN THIS  ARTICLE  SHALL  BE
 CONSTRUED  TO  GRANT  ANY  ADDITIONAL RIGHTS NOT EXPLICITLY PROVIDED FOR
 PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 291 of the executive law, as amended  by
 chapter 8 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   1. The opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination because
 of  age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender
 identity or expression, military status, sex, marital status, [or] disa-
 bility, OR STATUS AS AN ASYLUM  SEEKER,  is  hereby  recognized  as  and
 declared to be a civil right.
   §  5.   Section 53 of the civil service law, as amended by chapter 669
 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   § 53. Noncitizen status. Except  as  otherwise  provided  by  law,  no
 noncitizen  lawfully  admitted  for  permanent  residence  in the United
 States shall be denied appointment to  a  position  in  the  competitive
 class  of  civil service for reasons of noncitizen status. THE STATE AND
 MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE  COMMISSIONS  MAY,  BY  RULE,  PROVIDE  FOR  THE
 APPOINTMENT  OF PERSONS WHO ARE ASYLUM SEEKERS AND WHO ARE ISSUED WORKER
 PERMITS UNDER ARTICLE FOUR-B OF THE LABOR LAW.
   § 6. This act shall take effect on the forty-fifth day after it  shall
 have  become  a  law  and shall expire 2 years after such effective date
 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed.