STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7657 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE September 18, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the labor law, the executive law and the civil service law, in relation to enacting the New York emergency expedited tempo- rary work permit act; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York 2 emergency expedited temporary work permit act". 3 § 2. Legislative finding and intent. The federal immigration law has 4 become outdated and an impediment to New York state's ability to quickly 5 and properly integrate asylum seekers allowed to enter the United States 6 of America. Current federal law requires that an asylum seeker wait 7 150 days before applying for a work permit. Current work permit appli- 8 cations can take anywhere from 5 months to 14 months to process, leaving 9 asylum seekers without the legal paperwork to support themselves and 10 their families. Asylum seekers desperate to provide shelter, food, and 11 living expenses for themselves and their families are forced to work 12 without proper documentation leaving them open to exploitation from 13 employers that range from working in dangerous conditions without train- 14 ing to having their wages stolen. In view of the current federal 15 inaction to expedite federal work permit applications for asylum seek- 16 ers, it is incumbent on New York state to exercise its state's constitu- 17 tional duties and the powers reserved to states under the federal 18 constitution and enact a worker permit program. 19 § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 4-B to read as 20 follows: 21 ARTICLE 4-B 22 ASYLEE WORKER PERMIT PROGRAM 23 Section 155. Definitions. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13202-02-3
S. 7657 2 1 156. Asylee worker permit program. 2 157. Rules and regulations. 3 158. Construction. 4 § 155. Definitions. For the purposes of this article: 5 1. The term "asylee" shall have the same meaning as defined in the 6 federal immigration and nationality act (8 U.S.C. § 1101) provided that 7 for the purposes of this article such term shall include both asylees 8 who have filed federal paperwork to obtain asylum status and those who 9 are in the process of filing such application. 10 2. The term "employment" shall include employment in both the private 11 and public sectors. 12 § 156. Asylee worker permit program. 1. The commissioner shall estab- 13 lish a temporary program for the expedited issuance of work permits by 14 the department to asylum seekers residing in New York within forty-five 15 days of application. 16 2. No fees shall be charged for the issuance of asylee worker permits. 17 3. Permits issued under this section shall be valid for a period of 18 eighteen months from issuance, but may be renewed pursuant to regu- 19 lations adopted by the department. 20 § 157. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate emer- 21 gency rules and regulations for the issuance of worker permits to 22 asylees within thirty days of the effective date of this section. 23 § 158. Construction. Nothing contained within this article shall be 24 construed to grant any additional rights not explicitly provided for 25 pursuant to the provisions of this article. 26 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 291 of the executive law, as amended by 27 chapter 8 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 28 1. The opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination because 29 of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender 30 identity or expression, military status, sex, marital status, [or] disa- 31 bility, or status as an asylum seeker, is hereby recognized as and 32 declared to be a civil right. 33 § 5. Section 53 of the civil service law, as amended by chapter 669 34 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 35 § 53. Noncitizen status. Except as otherwise provided by law, no 36 noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 37 States shall be denied appointment to a position in the competitive 38 class of civil service for reasons of noncitizen status. The state and 39 municipal civil service commissions may, by rule, provide for the 40 appointment of persons who are asylum seekers and who are issued worker 41 permits under article four-B of the labor law. 42 § 6. This act shall take effect on the forty-fifth day after it shall 43 have become a law and shall expire 2 years after such effective date 44 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed.