S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8336
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 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 "faithless servant reform 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 "faithless servant reform act".
   §  2.  Legislative intent. The purpose of this act is to safeguard all
 employees from retaliatory legal actions by employers in the context  of
 employment disputes and to ensure that all claims of employee disloyalty
 are  substantiated, narrowly limited, and consistently and appropriately
 applied. The second purpose of this act is to ensure that  even  in  the
 very  limited  class  of cases where some forfeiture of employee compen-
 sation may otherwise be permissible  under  this  act,  such  forfeiture
 shall  be  limited  to  compensation  for  pay  periods during which the
 disloyal acts occurred and shall not encompass any part of an employee's
 minimum wage or overtime compensation.
   § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 215-d to read as
 follows:
   § 215-D. PROHIBITED RETALIATION; ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 1.  REBUTTABLE
 PRESUMPTION  OF  RETALIATION.  IN ANY ACTION WHERE AN EMPLOYEE ASSERTS A
 CLAIM UNDER THIS CHAPTER, FOR UNPAID WAGES, BENEFITS,  OR  WAGE  SUPPLE-
 MENTS,  AND  THE  EMPLOYER  RESPONDS  BY FILING OR THREATENING TO FILE A
 CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, OR AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE SEEKING  THE  FORFEITURE  OF
 ANY  EMPLOYMENT  COMPENSATION,  THERE  SHALL BE A REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION
 THAT SUCH EMPLOYER'S ACTION IS RETALIATORY  UNDER  SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED
 FIFTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   2.  BURDEN  OF  PROOF  FOR EMPLOYERS. (A) THE FORFEITURE OF ANY UNPAID
 WAGES, BENEFITS, OR WAGE SUPPLEMENTS SHALL NOT BE AN AVAILABLE REMEDY TO
 AN EMPLOYER AGAINST AN EMPLOYEE ARISING FROM WITHIN  THE  SCOPE  OF  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05454-02-5
              

 A. 8336                             2
 
 EMPLOYMENT  RELATIONSHIP,  UNLESS  SUCH  EMPLOYER  PROVES  BY  CLEAR AND
 CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT:
   (I)  SUCH  EMPLOYEE'S  CONDUCT  WAS  SO  PERVASIVE AND EGREGIOUS AS TO
 NEGATE THE CENTRAL PURPOSE OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP;
   (II) SUCH FORFEITURE IS BASED ON  MORE  THAN  A  SINGLE  ACT  OF  SUCH
 EMPLOYEE; AND
   (III)  SUCH  EMPLOYER  DID  NOT  KNOW  OF AND TOLERATE SUCH EMPLOYEE'S
 CONDUCT.
   (B) FORFEITURE OF UNPAID WAGES, BENEFITS, OR  WAGE  SUPPLEMENTS  UNDER
 PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF  THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE LIMITED TO INSTANCES WHERE
 THE EMPLOYEE UNFAIRLY  COMPETES  WITH  THE  EMPLOYER,  DIVERTS  BUSINESS
 OPPORTUNITIES  AWAY FROM SUCH EMPLOYER TO SUCH EMPLOYEE TO THE FINANCIAL
 DETRIMENT OF SUCH EMPLOYER, OR ACCEPTS IMPROPER KICKBACKS.
   3. LIMITATION ON THE REMEDY OF FORFEITURE. IN  THE  LIMITED  INSTANCES
 WHERE IT MAY BE AVAILABLE, AN EMPLOYER'S REMEDY OF FORFEITURE AGAINST AN
 EMPLOYEE SHALL BE STRICTLY LIMITED TO COMPENSATION DUE FOR THE PAY PERI-
 ODS  DURING WHICH SUCH EMPLOYEE'S AFFIRMATIVE ACTS UNDER SUBDIVISION TWO
 OF THIS SECTION OCCURRED. NOTWITHSTANDING SUCH POTENTIAL AVAILABILITY OF
 A PARTIAL FORFEITURE OF AN EMPLOYEE'S COMPENSATION, SUCH PARTIAL FORFEI-
 TURE SHALL NOT INCLUDE MINIMUM WAGE AND OVERTIME PAYMENTS AS REQUIRED BY
 ARTICLE NINETEEN OF THIS CHAPTER OR ANY WAGE ORDERS  PROMULGATED  THERE-
 UNDER.
   4.  EXISTING RIGHTS. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO DIMIN-
 ISH THE RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, OR REMEDIES OF ANY EMPLOYEE UNDER ANY  OTHER
 LAW,  RULE OR REGULATION OR UNDER ANY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT OR
 EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT.
   § 4. The executive law is amended by adding a  new  section  296-e  to
 read as follows:
   § 296-E. UNLAWFUL  DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES; ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 1.
 REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF DISCRIMINATION. IN ANY ACTION WHERE AN EMPLOY-
 EE ASSERTS A CLAIM UNDER THIS  ARTICLE  AND  THE  EMPLOYER  RESPONDS  BY
 FILING  OR  THREATENING  TO  FILE  A CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, OR AFFIRMATIVE
 DEFENSE SEEKING THE FORFEITURE OF  ANY  EMPLOYMENT  COMPENSATION,  THERE
 SHALL BE A REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT SUCH EMPLOYER'S ACTION IS DISCRI-
 MINATORY UNDER SECTION TWO HUNDRED NINETY-SIX OF THIS ARTICLE.
   2.  BURDEN  OF  PROOF  FOR EMPLOYERS. (A) THE FORFEITURE OF ANY UNPAID
 WAGES, BENEFITS, OR WAGE SUPPLEMENTS SHALL NOT BE AN AVAILABLE REMEDY TO
 AN EMPLOYER AGAINST AN EMPLOYEE ARISING FROM WITHIN  THE  SCOPE  OF  THE
 EMPLOYMENT  RELATIONSHIP,  UNLESS  SUCH  EMPLOYER  PROVES  BY  CLEAR AND
 CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT:
   (I) SUCH EMPLOYEE'S CONDUCT WAS  SO  PERVASIVE  AND  EGREGIOUS  AS  TO
 NEGATE THE CENTRAL PURPOSE OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP;
   (II)  SUCH  FORFEITURE  IS  BASED  ON  MORE  THAN A SINGLE ACT OF SUCH
 EMPLOYEE; AND
   (III) SUCH EMPLOYER DID NOT  KNOW  OF  AND  TOLERATE  SUCH  EMPLOYEE'S
 CONDUCT.
   (B)  FORFEITURE  OF  UNPAID WAGES, BENEFITS, OR WAGE SUPPLEMENTS UNDER
 PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE LIMITED  TO  INSTANCES  WHERE
 THE  EMPLOYEE  UNFAIRLY  COMPETES  WITH  THE  EMPLOYER, DIVERTS BUSINESS
 OPPORTUNITIES AWAY FROM SUCH EMPLOYER TO SUCH EMPLOYEE TO THE  FINANCIAL
 DETRIMENT OF SUCH EMPLOYER, OR ACCEPTS IMPROPER KICKBACKS.
   3.  LIMITATION  ON  THE REMEDY OF FORFEITURE. IN THE LIMITED INSTANCES
 WHERE IT MAY BE AVAILABLE, AN EMPLOYER'S REMEDY OF FORFEITURE AGAINST AN
 EMPLOYEE SHALL BE STRICTLY LIMITED TO COMPENSATION DUE FOR THE PAY PERI-
 ODS DURING WHICH SUCH EMPLOYEE'S AFFIRMATIVE ACTS UNDER SUBDIVISION  TWO
 OF THIS SECTION OCCURRED. NOTWITHSTANDING SUCH POTENTIAL AVAILABILITY OF
 A. 8336                             3
 
 A PARTIAL FORFEITURE OF AN EMPLOYEE'S COMPENSATION, SUCH PARTIAL FORFEI-
 TURE SHALL NOT INCLUDE MINIMUM WAGE AND OVERTIME PAYMENTS AS REQUIRED BY
 ARTICLE  NINETEEN OF THE LABOR LAW OR ANY WAGE ORDERS PROMULGATED THERE-
 UNDER.
   4.  EXISTING RIGHTS. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO DIMIN-
 ISH THE RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, OR REMEDIES OF ANY EMPLOYEE UNDER ANY  OTHER
 LAW,  RULE OR REGULATION OR UNDER ANY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT OR
 EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.