§ 528-7. Unlawful discriminatory practices in employment., Article II. Unlawful Discriminatory Acts, Chapter 528. Human Rights, Part II. Regulatory Local Laws, Code of Ordinances, Suffolk County

It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:

(1)

For an employer to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment or to discriminate against any individual in promotion, compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of such individual's group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence.

(2)

For an employment agency to discriminate against any individual, because of such individual's group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence, in receiving, classifying, disposing of or otherwise acting upon applications for its services or in referring an applicant or applicants for its services to an employer.

(3)

For a labor organization to exclude or to expel from its membership an individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer because of such individual's group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence.

(4)

For any employer, labor organization or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be 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 group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification.

(5)

For any employer, labor organization, employment agency or any joint labor-management committee controlling apprentice training programs:

(a)

To refuse to select any individual or individuals for an apprentice training program registered with the State of New York because of the individual's or individuals' group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence.

(b)

To deny to or withhold from any individual or individuals, because of his or her group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence, the right to be admitted to or participate in a guidance program, an apprenticeship, training program, on-the-job training program, or other occupational training or retraining program.

(c)

To discriminate against any individual in his or her pursuit of such programs or to discriminate against such an individual in the terms, conditions or privileges of such programs because of group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence.

(d)

To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for such programs or to make any inquiry in connection with such programs which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination based on an individual's or applicant's group identity or status as a victim of domestic violence, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification.

(6)

For any employer, labor organization or employment agency to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any individual because he or she has:

(a)

Opposed any practices forbidden under this article; or

(b)

Filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this article; or

(c)

Commenced a civil action against such employer, labor organization or employment agency, or employee or agent thereof, which action alleges the commission of an unlawful discriminatory practice; or

(d)

Participated with the Commission or its members or counsel in any investigation, or

(e)

Provided information to the Commission or its members or counsel in any investigation.

(7)

For an employer to compel an employee who is pregnant to take a leave of absence, unless the employee is prevented by such pregnancy from performing the essential functions of the job or occupation in a reasonable manner and no reasonable accommodation can be made, without causing an undue hardship on the employer, which will permit the employee to perform the essential functions of the job or occupation in a reasonable manner.

(8)

For any employer to discriminate against an employee who chooses to express breast milk in the workplace, to refuse to provide reasonable unpaid break time or refuse to permit an employee to use paid break time or meal time each day to allow an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for up to three years following child birth, or refuse to make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location, in close proximity to the work area, where an employee can express breast milk in privacy.

(9)

For an employer, employment agency or labor organization to refuse to provide reasonable accommodations to the known disabilities or pregnancy-related conditions of an employee, prospective employee or labor organization member in connection with a job or occupation sought or held or participation in a training program. Nothing contained in this Subsection A(9) shall be construed to require provision of accommodations which the employer, employment agency or labor organization can demonstrate will impose an undue hardship on the operation of an employer's, employment agency's, or labor organization's business, program or enterprise. Factors that may be considered by the Commission in determining whether the accommodation constitutes an undue hardship include, but are not limited to:

(a)

The overall size of the business, program or enterprise with respect to the number of employees, number and types of facilities, and size of budget;

(b)

The type of operation which the business, program, or enterprise is engaged in, including the composition and structure of the workforce; and

(c)

The nature and cost of the accommodation needed.

(10)

For any employer, or an employee or agent thereof, to impose upon an individual as a condition of obtaining or retaining employment, including opportunities for promotion, advancement or transfers, any terms or conditions that would require such individual to violate or forego a sincerely held practice of his or her religion, including, but not limited to, the observance of any particular day or days or any portion thereof as a Sabbath or other holy day in accordance with the requirements of his or her religion, unless, after engaging in a bona fide effort, the employer demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate the employee's or prospective employee's sincerely held religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.

(a)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an employee shall not be entitled to premium wages or premium benefits for work performed during hours to which such premium wages or premium benefits would ordinarily be applicable, if the employee is working during such hours only as an accommodation to his or her sincerely held religious requirements. Nothing in Subsection A(10)(a) or (b) shall alter or abridge the rights granted to an employee concerning the payment of wages or privileges of seniority accruing to that employee.

(b)

Except where it would cause an employer to incur an undue hardship, no individual shall be required to remain at his or her place of employment during any day or days or portion thereof that, as a requirement of his or her religion, he or she observes as his or her Sabbath or other holy day, including a reasonable time prior and subsequent thereto for travel between his or her place of employment and his or her home; provided, however, that any such absence from work shall, wherever practicable in the reasonable judgment of the employer, be made up by an equivalent amount of time and work at some other mutually convenient time, or shall be charged against any leave with pay ordinarily granted, other than sick leave; provided further, however, that any such absence not so made up or charged may be treated by the employer of such individual as leave taken without pay.

(c)

It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer or an employee or agent thereof to refuse to permit an employee to utilize leave, as provided in Subsection A(10)(b), solely because the leave will be used for absence from work to accommodate the employee's sincerely held religious observance or practice.

(d)

As used in this Subsection A(10), "undue hardship" means an accommodation requiring significant expense or difficulty (including a significant interference with the safe or efficient operation of the workplace or a violation of a bona fide seniority system). Factors that may be considered by the Commission in determining whether the accommodation constitutes an undue hardship include, but are not limited to:

[1]

The identifiable cost of the accommodation, including the costs of loss of productivity and of retaining or hiring employees or transferring employees from one facility to another, in relation to the size and operating cost of the employer;

[2]

The number of individuals who will need the particular accommodation to a sincerely held religious observance or practice;

[3]

For an employer with multiple facilities, the degree to which the geographic separateness or administrative or fiscal relationship of the facilities will make the accommodation more difficult or expensive; and

[4]

The resulting inability of an employee to perform the essential functions of the position in which he or she is employed.

(11)

Fire departments or companies.

(a)

For any fire department or fire company therein, through any member or members thereof, officers, board of fire commissioners or other body or office having power of appointment of volunteer firefighters, directly or indirectly, by ritualistic practice, constitutional or bylaw prescription, by tacit agreement among its members, or otherwise, to deny to any individual membership in any volunteer fire department or fire company therein, or to expel or discriminate against any volunteer member of a fire department or fire company therein, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, gender or marital status of such individual.

(b)

Upon the filing of a complaint under this article, and in the event of a finding that an unlawful discriminatory practice has been engaged in, the board of fire commissioners or other body or office having power of appointment of volunteer firefighters shall be served with any order required under this article to be served on any or all respondents requiring such respondent or respondents to cease and desist from such unlawful discriminatory practice and to take affirmative action. Unless such board has been found to have engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice, service upon such board of such order shall not constitute such board or its members as a respondent nor constitute a finding of an unlawful discriminatory practice against such board or its members.

(12)

Criminal convictions and proceedings.

(a)

For any person to deny any license or employment to any individual by reason of his or her having been convicted of one or more criminal offenses, or by reason of a finding of a lack of "good moral character" which is based upon his or her having been convicted of one or more criminal offenses, when such denial is in violation of the provisions of Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law. Further, there shall be a rebuttable presumption in favor of excluding from evidence the prior incarceration or conviction of any individual, in a case alleging that the employer has been negligent in hiring or retaining an applicant or employee, or supervising a hiring manager, if after learning about an applicant's or employee's past criminal conviction history, such employer has evaluated the factors set forth in § 752 of the Correction Law, and made a reasonable, good faith determination that such factors militate in favor of hire or retention of that applicant or employee.

(b)

Unless specifically required or permitted by statute, for any person to make any inquiry about, whether in any form of application or otherwise, or to act upon adversely to the individual involved, any arrest or criminal accusation of such individual not then pending against that individual which was followed by a termination of that criminal action or proceeding in favor of such individual, as defined in Subdivision 2 of § 160.50 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 720.35 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to § 160.55 of the Criminal Procedure Law or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to § 160.58 of the Criminal Procedure Law, in connection with the licensing, employment or providing of credit or insurance to such individual; provided, further, that no person shall be required to divuige information pertaining to any arrest or criminal accusation of such individual not then pending against that individual which was followed by a termination of that criminal action or proceeding in favor of such individual, as defined in Subdivision 2 of § 160.50 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 720.35 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to § 160.55 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to § 160.58 of the Criminal Procedure Law. The provisions of this Subsection A(12) shall not apply to the licensing activities of governmental bodies in relation to the regulation of guns, firearms and other deadly weapons or in relation to an application for employment as a police officer or peace officer as those terms are defined in Subdivisions 33 and 34 of § 1.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law; provided, further, that the provisions of this Subsection A(12) shall not apply to an application for employment or membership in any law enforcement agency with respect to any arrest or criminal accusation which was followed by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 720.35 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to § 160.55 of the Criminal Procedure Law, or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to § 160.58 of the Criminal Procedure Law.

(13)

Wage and salary history.

[Added 11-20-2018 by L.L. No. 25-2018]

(a)

For any employer, employment agency, employee or agent thereof to inquire, whether in any form of application or otherwise, about a job applicant's wage or salary history, including, but not limited to, compensation and benefits. For purposes of this subsection, "to inquire" means to ask an applicant or former employer orally, or in writing or otherwise or to conduct a search of publicly available records or reports.

(b)

For any employer, employment agency, employee or agent thereof to rely on the salary history of an applicant for employment in determining the wage or salary amount for such applicant at any stage in the employment process, including the offer or contract.

(c)

This subsection shall not apply to any actions taken by an employer, employment agency, employee or agent thereof pursuant to any federal, state or local law that requires the disclosure or verification of salary for employment purposes.

(d)

This subsection shall not apply to the exercise of any right of an employer or employee pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement.