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Senate

      Bill
      S496

2025-2026 Legislative Session Relates to the commissioner's duty to ensure employers inform employees about certain provisions in employment contracts

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Sponsored By

Nathalia Fernandez

(D) 34th Senate District

Current

        Bill Status
          Via
    A618
        - Passed Senate

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co-Sponsors

Robert Jackson

(D, WF) 31st Senate District

Lea Webb

(D, WF) 52nd Senate District

2025-S496

       (ACTIVE)
      - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill: A618 Law Section: Labor Law Laws Affected: Amd §21, Lab L Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions: 2017-2018: A11301
2019-2020: S2035, A1115
2021-2022: S457
2023-2024: S4361, A6756

2025-S496

           (ACTIVE)
          - Summary

Requires employers to inform their employees that non-disclosure or non-disparagement provisions in their employment contracts do not prohibit them from speaking with law enforcement, the equal employment opportunity commission, the state division of human rights, a local commission on human rights, or an attorney retained by the employee.

2025-S496

         (ACTIVE)
        - Sponsor Memo

BILL NUMBER: S496

SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to the commissioner's duty to
ensure employers inform employees about certain provisions in employment
contracts

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require that employers inform workers that non-disclosure or non-dis-
paragement provisions in their employment contracts cannot prevent them
from speaking with law enforcement, the equal employment opportunity
commission, the division of human rights, a local human rights commis-
sion, or an attorney retained by the employee.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 21 of the labor law by adding a new subdivision
16 to require employers to inform employees signing non-disclosure
agreements that they retain the right to report to law enforcement, the
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2025-S496

       (ACTIVE)
      - Bill Text [download pdf](https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/s496)

S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K

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                                496

                    2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                         I N  S E N A T E

                            (PREFILED)

                          January 8, 2025
                            ___________

Introduced by Sens. FERNANDEZ, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered print-
ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor

AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the commissioner's duty to
ensure employers inform employees about certain provisions in employ-
ment contracts

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 21 of the labor law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 17 to read as follows:
17. SHALL REQUIRE EMPLOYERS TO INFORM THEIR EMPLOYEES THAT NON-DISCLO-
SURE OR NON-DISPARAGEMENT PROVISIONS IN THEIR EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS DO
NOT PROHIBIT THEM FROM SPEAKING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE EQUAL EMPLOY-
MENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, THE STATE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, A LOCAL
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, OR AN ATTORNEY RETAINED BY THE EMPLOYEE.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00246-01-5

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