Int. No. 863-A

By Council Members Williams, Cumbo, Rosenthal, Rivera, Rose, Chin, Levin, Levine, Kallos, Powers, Ayala, Koslowitz, Reynoso, Brannan, Lander, Perkins, Menchaca, Ampry-Samuel, Richards, Espinal, Lancman, Treyger, Gibson, Constantinides, Barron, Adams, Miller, Rodriguez, Moya, Cohen, Eugene and the Public Advocate (Ms. James)

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting employment discrimination and discriminatory harassment or violence based on an individual’s reproductive health choices.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Section 8-101 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 1 for the year 2016, is amended to read as follows:

§ 8-101 Policy.

In the city of New York, with its great cosmopolitan population, there is no greater  danger to the health, morals, safety and welfare of the  city and its inhabitants than the existence of groups prejudiced against  one another and antagonistic to each other because of  their  actual  or  perceived differences, including those based on race, color, creed, age,  national   origin,   alienage  or  citizenship  status,  gender,  sexual  orientation, disability, marital status, partnership  status,  caregiver  status,  sexual and reproductive health decisions, uniformed  service,  any  lawful  source of income, status as a  victim of domestic violence or status as a victim  of  sex  offenses  or  stalking,  whether  children  are,  may  be  or would be residing with a  person or conviction or arrest record.  The  council  hereby  finds  and  declares  that  prejudice,  intolerance,  bigotry,  and  discrimination,  bias-related violence or  harassment  and  disorder  occasioned  thereby  threaten  the rights and proper privileges of its inhabitants and menace  the institutions and foundation of a free democratic state. The council further finds and declares that gender-based harassment threatens the terms, conditions and privileges of employment. A city agency is  hereby  created  with power to eliminate and prevent discrimination from playing  any role in actions relating to employment, public  accommodations,  and  housing  and  other  real  estate,  and  to  take  other actions against  prejudice, intolerance, bigotry, discrimination, sexual  harassment  and  bias-related  violence or harassment  as  herein  provided;  and  the  commission established hereunder is hereby  given  general  jurisdiction  and power for such purposes.

§ 2. Section 8-102 of chapter one of title eight of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new definition of “sexual and reproductive health decisions” in alphabetical order to read as follows:

Sexual and reproductive health decisions. The term “sexual and reproductive health decisions” means any decision by an individual to receive services, which are arranged for or offered or provided to individuals relating to sexual and reproductive health, including the reproductive system and its functions. Such services include, but are not limited to, fertility-related medical procedures, sexually transmitted disease prevention, testing, and treatment, and family planning services and counseling, such as birth control drugs and supplies, emergency contraception, sterilization procedures, pregnancy testing, and abortion.

§ 3.  Paragraphs a, b, c and d of subdivision 1 of section 8-107 of the administrative code of the city of New York, paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) as amended by local law number 119 for the year 2017, are amended to read as follows:

1. Employment. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:

(a) For an employer or an employee or agent thereof, because of the actual or perceived age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment such person or to discriminate against such person in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment.

(b) For an employment agency or an employee or agent thereof to discriminate against any person because of such person's actual or perceived age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status in receiving, classifying, disposing or otherwise acting upon applications for its services or in referring an applicant or applicants for its services to an employer or employers.

(c) For a labor organization or an employee or agent thereof, because of the actual or perceived age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status of any person, to exclude or to expel from its membership such person or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any person employed by an employer.

(d) For any employer, labor organization or employment agency or an employee or agent thereof to declare, print or circulate or cause to be declared, printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for employment or to make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination.

§ 4. Paragraphs b, c and d of subdivision 2 of section 8-107 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 63 for the year 2018, are amended to read as follows:

(b) To deny to or withhold from any person because of his or her actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status the right to be admitted to or participate in a guidance program, an apprentice training program, on-the-job training program, or other occupational training or retraining program.

(c) To discriminate against any person in his or her pursuit of such program or to discriminate against such a person in the terms, conditions or privileges of such program because of actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status.

(d) To declare, print or circulate or cause to be declared, printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for such program or to make any inquiry in connection with such program which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, partnership status, caregiver status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination.

§ 5.  Subdivision a of section 8-602 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 63 for the year 2018, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Whenever a person interferes by threats, intimidation or coercion or attempts to interfere by threats, intimidation or coercion with the exercise or enjoyment by any person of rights secured by the constitution or laws of the United States, the constitution or laws of this state, or local law of the city and such interference or attempted interference is motivated in whole or in part by the victim’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation, age, whether children are, may or would be residing with such victim, marital status, partnership status, disability, or alienage or citizenship status as defined in chapter one of this title, the corporation counsel, at the request of the City Commission on Human Rights or on his or her own initiative, may bring a civil action on behalf of the city for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the rights secured.

§ 6. Subdivisions a and b of section 8-603 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 63 for the year 2018,  are amended to read as follows:

(a) No person shall by force or threat of force, knowingly injure, intimidate or interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her by the constitution or laws of this state or by the constitution or laws of the United States or local law of the city when such injury, intimidation, oppression or threat is motivated in whole or in part by the victim's actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, or alienage or citizenship status, as defined in chapter one of this title.

(b) No person shall knowingly deface, damage or destroy the real or personal property of any person for the purpose of intimidating or interfering with the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to the other person by the constitution or laws of this state or by the constitution or laws of the United States or by local law of the city when such defacement, damage or destruction of real or personal property is motivated in whole or in part by the victim's actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual oration, age, marital status, partnership status or whether children are may be, or would be residing with such victim, disability or alienage or citizenship status, as defined in chapter one of this title.

§ 7.  This local law takes effect 120 days after its enactment, provided, however that the city commission on human rights may take any actions necessary prior to such effective date for the implementation of this local law, including, but not limited to, the adoption of any necessary rules.

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LS #10151/ Int. 1743-2017

LS #381

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