Bill Looks to Prevent Hiring Registered Sex Offenders Having Direct Contact with Children Under 16

Queens, NY, March 15, 2011 – NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens), a member
of the Senate’s Labor Committee, and NYS Assembly Member Michael Miller (D-Queens),
are pushing for passage of the Sex Offender Employment Act. The Senate bill, sponsored
by Addabbo and passed on Monday, March 7, seeks to prohibit registered sex offenders
from working with children ages 16 and under, directly and unsupervised. The bill will
now travel to the Assembly where Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Queens) has sponsored the
bill.  After passage and signature by the governor, this bill will become effective
immediately.  

The act will amend the Labor Law to prevent employers from hiring sex offenders and
child abusers for positions in which they would have substantial contact with children
and to prevent those on the New York State Sex Offender Registry and the Statewide
Central Registry of Child Abuse and Maltreatment from holding jobs in which they would
have substantial contact with children.   

The act specifically requires Sex Offender Registry checks for certain employers:

·    Any employer that operates a school described in Paragraph F of Subdivision 2 of
Section 5001 of the Education
      Law, established for the primary purpose of providing instruction to children
under age 16 shall, before hiring a
      prospective employee for a position where such prospective employee is expected
to have direct and
      unsupervised contact with children, ascertain whether such prospective employee is
listed on the Sex Offender
      Registry, established by Article 6-C of the Correction Law.
·   Prior to initiating the Sex Offender Registry inquiry described in Subdivision 1 of
this section, an employer shall inform
     the prospective employee that such inquiry will be performed.
·   A willful violation of this section shall subject an employer to a civil penalty of
not more than $100.