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Assembly Bill A5411A

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Enacts the anti-waiver of employment rights act

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Current Bill Status Via S4424 - Passed Assembly

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Bill Amendments

2025-A5411 - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S4424
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add §219-e, Lab L; add §302, Exec L

2025-A5411 - Summary

Enacts the "anti-waiver of employment rights act" to invalidate any express or implied contractual provision waiving or otherwise limiting any employee's substantive or procedural rights, remedies, or claim.

2025-A5411 - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5411
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law and the  executive  law,  in  relation  to
   enacting the "anti-waiver of employment rights act"
 
   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 "anti-waiver of employment rights act".
   §  2.  Legislative  findings  and intent. 1. The legislature finds and
 declares that it has always been its intention that the rights  provided
 under the labor law and the human rights law be mandatory and non-waiva-
 ble  through  private  agreement.  The  legislature  further  finds  and
 declares that it is the policy of this state that workers  be  permitted
 to enforce these rights collectively, including through article 9 of the
 civil  practice  law  and  rules. However, some courts have misconstrued
 these statutes as permitting waivers of these statutory rights.
   2. In light of these erroneous decisions, some  employers  have  taken
 advantage  of  these decisions to require employees to sign waivers that
 purport to contractually shorten their statute of limitations for bring-
 ing claims under the labor law or human rights law, or that  purport  to
 waive other rights that employees have under the labor law and the human
 rights  law,  as  well  as procedural mechanisms to enforce those rights
 collectively, such as article 9 of the civil  practice  law  and  rules.
 Such  purported  waivers  have  always  been  and continue to be against
 public policy.
   § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 219-e to read as
 follows:
   § 219-E. WAIVER AGREEMENTS  VOID.  1.  WAIVERS  VOID.  NO  EXPRESS  OR
 IMPLIED  CONTRACTUAL PROVISION WAIVING OR OTHERWISE LIMITING ANY EMPLOY-
 EE'S SUBSTANTIVE OR  PROCEDURAL  RIGHTS,  REMEDIES,  OR  CLAIM,  WHETHER
 ASSERTED  OR  UNASSERTED  AND  WHETHER  LEGALLY  COGNIZABLE  OR  NOT, IN

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05321-01-5

co-Sponsors

2025-A5411A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S4424
Law Section:
Labor Law
Laws Affected:
Add §219-e, Lab L; add §302, Exec L

2025-A5411A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "anti-waiver of employment rights act" to invalidate any express or implied contractual provision waiving or otherwise limiting any employee's substantive or procedural rights, remedies, or claim.

2025-A5411A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5411--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted
   as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  labor law and the executive law, in relation to
   enacting the "anti-waiver of employment rights act"

   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 "anti-waiver of employment rights act".
   § 2. Legislative findings and intent. 1.  The  legislature  finds  and
 declares  that it has always been its intention that the rights provided
 under the labor law and the human rights law be mandatory and non-waiva-
 ble  through  private  agreement.  The  legislature  further  finds  and
 declares  that  it is the policy of this state that workers be permitted
 to enforce these rights collectively, including through article 9 of the
 civil practice law and rules. However,  some  courts  have  misconstrued
 these statutes as permitting waivers of these statutory rights.
   2.  In  light  of these erroneous decisions, some employers have taken
 advantage of these decisions to require employees to sign  waivers  that
 purport to contractually shorten their statute of limitations for bring-
 ing  claims  under the labor law or human rights law, or that purport to
 waive other rights that employees have under the labor law and the human
 rights law, as well as procedural mechanisms  to  enforce  those  rights
 collectively,  such  as  article  9 of the civil practice law and rules.
 Such purported waivers have always  been  and  continue  to  be  against
 public policy.
   § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 219-e to read as
 follows:
   §  219-E.  WAIVER  AGREEMENTS  VOID.  1.  WAIVERS  VOID. NO EXPRESS OR
 IMPLIED CONTRACTUAL PROVISION WAIVING OR OTHERWISE LIMITING ANY  EMPLOY-
 EE'S  SUBSTANTIVE  OR  PROCEDURAL  RIGHTS,  REMEDIES,  OR CLAIM, WHETHER
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05321-05-5

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