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New York Labor Laws
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DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CERTAIN ACTIVITIES
New York Labor Law
§ 201-d. Discrimination against the engagement in certain activities.
1. Denitions. As used in this section:
a. “Political activities” shall mean (i) running for public oce, (ii) campaigning
for a candidate for public oce, or (iii) participating in fund-raising activities
for the benet of a candidate, political party or political advocacy group;
b. “Recreational activities” shall mean any lawful, leisure-time activity, for
which the employee receives no compensation and which is generally
engaged in for recreational purposes, including but not limited to sports,
games, hobbies, exercise, reading and the viewing of television, movies
and similar material;
c. “Work hours” shall mean, for purposes of this section, all time, including
paid and unpaid breaks and meal periods, that the employee is suered,
permitted or expected to be engaged in work, and all time the employee
is actually engaged in work. This denition shall not be referred to
in determining hours worked for which an employee is entitled to
compensation under any law including article nineteen of this chapter;
d. “Political matters” shall mean matters relating to elections for political
oce, political parties, legislation, regulation and the decision to join or
support any political party or political, civic, community, fraternal or labor
organization;
e. “Religious matters” shall mean matters relating to religious aliation and
practice and the decision to join or support any religious organization or
association.
2. Unless otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for any employer or
employment agency to refuse to hire, employ or license, or to discharge from
employment or otherwise discriminate against an individual in compensation,
promotion or terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of:
a. an individual’s political activities outside of working hours, o of the
employer’s premises and without use of the employer’s equipment or other
property, if such activities are legal, provided, however, that this paragraph
shall not apply to persons whose employment is dened in paragraph
six of subdivision (a) of section seventy-nine-h of the civil rights law, and
provided further that this paragraph shall not apply to persons who would
otherwise be prohibited from engaging in political activity pursuant to
chapter 15 of title 5 and subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5 of the USCA;
b. an individual’s legal use of consumable products, including cannabis in
accordance with state law, prior to the beginning or after the conclusion of
the employee’s work hours, and o of the employer’s premises and without
use of the employer’s equipment or other property;
c. an individual’s legal recreational activities, including cannabis in accordance
with state law, outside work hours, o of the employer’s premises and
without use of the employer’s equipment or other property;
d. an individual’s membership in a union or any exercise of rights granted
under Title 29, USCA, Chapter 7 or under article fourteen of the civil service
law; or
e. an individual’s refusal to: (i) attend an employer-sponsored meeting with
the employer or its agent, representative or designee, the primary purpose
of which is to communicate the employer’s opinion concerning religious
or political matters; or (ii) listen to speech or view communications, the
primary purpose of which is to communicate the employer’s opinion
concerning religious or political matters.
3. The provisions of subdivision two of this section shall not be deemed to
protect activity which:
a. creates a material conict of interest related to the employer’s trade secrets,
proprietary information or other proprietary or business interest;
b. with respect to employees of a state agency as dened in sections seventy-
three and seventy-four of the public ocers law respectively, is in knowing
violation of subdivision two, three, four, ve, seven, eight or twelve of
section seventy-three or of section seventy-four of the public ocers law,
or of any executive order, policy, directive, or other rule which has been
issued by the attorney general regulating outside employment or activities
that could conict with employees’ performance of their ocial duties;
c. with respect to employees of any employer as dened in section twenty-
seven-a of this chapter, is in knowing violation of a provision of a collective
bargaining agreement concerning ethics, conicts of interest, potential
conicts of interest, or the proper discharge of ocial duties;
d. with respect to employees of any employer as dened in section twenty-
seven-a of this chapter who are not subject to section seventy-three or
seventy-four of the public ocers law, is in knowing violation of article
eighteen of the general municipal law or any local law, administrative code
provision, charter provision or rule or directive of the mayor or any agency
head of a city having a population of one million or more, where such
law, code provision, charter provision, rule or directive concerns ethics,
conicts of interest, potential conicts of interest, or the proper discharge
of ocial duties and otherwise covers such employees; and
e. with respect to employees other than those of any employer as dened
in section twenty-seven-a of this chapter, violates a collective bargaining
agreement or a certied or licensed professional’s contractual obligation to
devote his or her entire compensated working hours to a single employer,
provided however that the provisions of this paragraph shall apply only
to professionals whose compensation is at least fty thousand dollars
for the year nineteen hundred ninety-two and in subsequent years is
an equivalent amount adjusted by the same percentage as the annual
increase or decrease in the consumer price index.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this section, an
employer shall not be in violation of this section where the employer takes
action based on the belief either that: (i) the employer’s actions were required
by statute, regulation, ordinance or other governmental mandate, (ii) the
employer’s actions were permissible pursuant to an established substance
abuse or alcohol program or workplace policy, professional contract or
collective bargaining agreement, or (iii) the individual’s actions were deemed
by an employer or previous employer to be illegal or to constitute habitually
poor performance, incompetency or misconduct.
4-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three or four of this section,
an employer shall not be in violation of this section where the employer
takes action related to the use of cannabis based on the following:
(i) the employer’s actions were required by state or federal statute, regulation,
ordinance, or other state or federal governmental mandate;
(ii) the employee is impaired by the use of cannabis, meaning the employee
manifests specic articulable symptoms while working that decrease or
lessen the employee’s performance of the duties or tasks of the employee’s
job position, or such specic articulable symptoms interfere with an
employer’s obligation to provide a safe and healthy work place, free from
recognized hazards, as required by state and federal occupational safety
and health law; or
(iii) the employer’s actions would require such employer to commit any act
that would cause the employer to be in violation of federal law or would
result in the loss of a federal contract or federal funding.
5. Nothing in this section shall apply to persons who, on an individual basis,
have a professional service contract with an employer and the unique nature
of the services provided is such that the employer shall be permitted, as part
of such professional service contract, to limit the o-duty activities which may
be engaged in by such individual.
6. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an organization or employer from
oering, imposing or having in eect a health, disability or life insurance
policy that makes distinctions between employees for the type of coverage or
the price of coverage based upon the employees’ recreational activities or use
of consumable products, provided that dierential premium rates charged
employees reect a dierential cost to the employer and that employers
provide employees with a statement delineating the dierential rates used by
the carriers providing insurance for the employer, and provided further that
such distinctions in type or price of coverage shall not be utilized to expand,
limit or curtail the rights or liabilities of any party with regard to a civil cause
of action.
7. a. Where a violation of this section is alleged to have occurred, the attorney
general may apply in the name of the people of the state of New York for
an order enjoining or restraining the commission or continuance of the
alleged unlawful acts. In any such proceeding, the court may impose a civil
penalty in the amount of three hundred dollars for the rst violation and
ve hundred dollars for each subsequent violation.
b. In addition to any other penalties or actions otherwise applicable pursuant
to this chapter, where a violation of this section is alleged to have occurred,
an aggrieved individual may commence an action for equitable relief and
damages.
8. Nothing in this section shall prohibit: (i) an employer or its agent, representative
or designee from communicating to its employees any information that the
employer is required by law to communicate, but only to the extent of such
legal requirement; (ii) an employer or its agent, representative or designee
from communicating to its employees any information that is necessary
for such employees to perform their job duties; (iii) an institution of higher
education, or any agent, representative or designee of such institution, from
meeting with or participating in any communications with its employees
that are part of coursework, any symposia or an academic program at such
institution; (iv) casual conversations between employees or between an
employee and an agent, representative or designee of an employer, provided
participation in such conversations is not required; or (v) a requirement
limited to the employer’s managerial and supervisory employees.
9. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a religious corporation,
entity, association, educational institution or society that is exempt from the
requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pursuant to 42 USC
2000e-1(a) with respect to speech on religious matters to employees who
perform work connected with the activities undertaken by such religious
corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society.
10. Every employer shall post a sign in every workplace at the location or
locations where notices to employees are normally posted, to inform
employees of their rights pursuant to this section.