Senate Bill S3888

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3888

SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
determination of damages in a civil action arising from personal injury
or wrongful death

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prevent the reduction of damages for lost earnings or impaired earn-
ing capacity because of race, creed, color, national origin, religion,
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex, familial status,
marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence in calcu-
lations of judgments.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one: Provide a short title.

Section two: Prohibits the reduction of damages for lost earnings or
              

impaired earning capacity because of race, creed, color, national
origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
sex, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic
violence.

Section three: Establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

A discriminatory disparity exists in how civil damage awards are calcu-
lated by the court system, consistently hurting women and minorities. In
court calculations of lost earnings payout - say, from an injury on the
job or a wrongful death - the algorithm used takes into account project-
ed career earnings. Seems reasonable enough, but it often leads to
discriminatory outcomes.

In calculating future earnings, the algorithm takes account of factors
such as "race" and "gender". These considerations, due to systemic
injustices, lead to reductions in projected wages. The gender wage gap,
for example, is well documented and consistently shows that women tend
to make less than men for similar work. This unfortunate reality is a
problem to be solved, not one that should be codified into our court
systems.

And the problem is widespread. According to a survey by the National
Association of Forensic Economics, about one-half of economists said
they consider race, while more than 90% consider gender when projecting
earning potential for an injured person in a civil lawsuit resulting in
inadequate damages reflective of and stemming from discriminatory prac-
tices.

Based on a New Jersey bill, this bill would forbid the reduction of
damages due to the calculation of any factor protected in New York Human
Rights Law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to civil actions
commenced on or after such effective date.