STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6920 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAGA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to prohibiting discrimi- nation on the basis of a person's caste in opportunities of employ- ment, housing, and access to public accommodations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 292 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 42 to read as follows: 3 42. The term "caste" means a class in a graded social hierarchical 4 structure that assigns individuals social status, roles, privileges, and 5 disadvantages based on birth and typically enforces hereditary status, 6 endogamy, and occupational restrictions while limiting social and 7 economic mobility and access to fundamental rights and opportunities. 8 § 2. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (h) of subdivision 1 of section 9 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 10 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 11 (a) For an employer or licensing agency, because of an individual's 12 age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 13 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 14 status, sex, caste, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, 15 familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic 16 violence, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from 17 employment such individual or to discriminate against such individual in 18 compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment. 19 (b) For an employment agency to discriminate against any individual 20 because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 21 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 22 military status, sex, caste, disability, predisposing genetic character- 23 istics, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domes- 24 tic violence, in receiving, classifying, disposing or otherwise acting EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10378-01-5
A. 6920 2 1 upon applications for its services or in referring an applicant or 2 applicants to an employer or employers. 3 (c) For a labor organization, because of the age, race, creed, color, 4 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 5 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, disability, 6 predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, 7 or status as a victim of domestic violence, of any individual, to 8 exclude or to expel from its membership such individual or to discrimi- 9 nate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or 10 any individual employed by an employer. 11 (d) For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or 12 cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publi- 13 cation, or to use any form of application for employment or to make any 14 inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses 15 directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination 16 as to age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 17 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 18 tary status, sex, caste, disability, predisposing genetic character- 19 istics, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of 20 domestic violence, or any intent to make any such limitation, specifica- 21 tion or discrimination, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qual- 22 ification; provided, however, that neither this paragraph nor any 23 provision of this chapter or other law shall be construed to prohibit 24 the department of civil service or the department of personnel of any 25 city containing more than one county from requesting information from 26 applicants for civil service examinations concerning any of the afore- 27 mentioned characteristics, other than sexual orientation, for the 28 purpose of conducting studies to identify and resolve possible problems 29 in recruitment and testing of members of minority groups to ensure the 30 fairest possible and equal opportunities for employment in the civil 31 service for all persons, regardless of age, race, creed, color, national 32 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation or gender 33 identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, disability, predis- 34 posing genetic characteristics, familial status, or marital status. 35 (h) For an employer, licensing agency, employment agency or labor 36 organization to subject any individual to harassment because of an indi- 37 vidual's age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 38 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 39 tary status, sex, caste, disability, predisposing genetic 40 characteristics, familial status, marital status, status as a victim of 41 domestic violence, or because the individual has opposed any practices 42 forbidden under this article or because the individual has filed a 43 complaint, testified or assisted in any proceeding under this article, 44 regardless of whether such harassment would be considered severe or 45 pervasive under precedent applied to harassment claims. Such harassment 46 is an unlawful discriminatory practice when it subjects an individual to 47 inferior terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the 48 individual's membership in one or more of these protected categories. 49 The fact that such individual did not make a complaint about the harass- 50 ment to such employer, licensing agency, employment agency or labor 51 organization shall not be determinative of whether such employer, 52 licensing agency, employment agency or labor organization shall be 53 liable. Nothing in this section shall imply that an employee must demon- 54 strate the existence of an individual to whom the employee's treatment 55 must be compared. It shall be an affirmative defense to liability under 56 this subdivision that the harassing conduct does not rise above the
A. 6920 3 1 level of what a reasonable victim of discrimination with the same 2 protected characteristic or characteristics would consider petty slights 3 or trivial inconveniences. 4 § 3. Paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision 1-a of section 296 of 5 the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the 6 laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 7 (b) To deny to or withhold from any person because of race, creed, 8 color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orien- 9 tation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, 10 disability, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of 11 domestic violence, the right to be admitted to or participate in a guid- 12 ance program, an apprenticeship training program, on-the-job training 13 program, executive training program, or other occupational training or 14 retraining program; 15 (c) To discriminate against any person in [his or her] pursuit of such 16 programs or to discriminate against such a person in the terms, condi- 17 tions or privileges of such programs because of race, creed, color, 18 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 19 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, disa- 20 bility, familial status, marital status, or status as a victim of domes- 21 tic violence; 22 (d) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 23 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 24 tion for such programs or to make any inquiry in connection with such 25 program which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, spec- 26 ification or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, 27 citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity 28 or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, disability, familial 29 status, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence, or 30 any intention to make any such limitation, specification or discrimi- 31 nation, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. 32 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 296 of the executive 33 law, paragraph (a) as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the 34 laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 35 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, 36 being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or 37 employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement, 38 because of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 39 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili- 40 tary status, sex, caste, disability, marital status, or status as a 41 victim of domestic violence, of any person, directly or indirectly, to 42 refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, 43 advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, including the extension of 44 credit, or, directly or indirectly, to publish, circulate, issue, 45 display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice or 46 advertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, 47 facilities and privileges of any such place shall be refused, withheld 48 from or denied to any person on account of race, creed, color, national 49 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender 50 identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, disability or mari- 51 tal status, or that the patronage or custom thereat of any person of or 52 purporting to be of any particular race, creed, color, national origin, 53 citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity 54 or expression, military status, sex, caste, or marital status, or having 55 a disability is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or 56 solicited.
A. 6920 4 1 § 5. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (c-1) of subdivision 2-a of section 2 296 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 3 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 4 (a) To refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise to deny to or with- 5 hold from any person or group of persons such housing accommodations 6 because of the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizen- 7 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 8 expression, military status, age, sex, caste, marital status, status as 9 a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial 10 status of such person or persons, or to represent that any housing 11 accommodation or land is not available for inspection, sale, rental or 12 lease when in fact it is so available. 13 (b) To discriminate against any person because of [his or her] race, 14 creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or immigration 15 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 16 status, age, sex, caste, marital status, status as a victim of domestic 17 violence, lawful source of income or familial status in the terms, 18 conditions or privileges of any publicly-assisted housing accommodations 19 or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith. 20 (c) To cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concern- 21 ing the race, creed, color, disability, national origin, citizenship or 22 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 23 membership in the reserve armed forces of the United States or in the 24 organized militia of the state, age, sex, caste, marital status, status 25 as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial 26 status of a person seeking to rent or lease any publicly-assisted hous- 27 ing accommodation; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision 28 shall prohibit a member of the reserve armed forces of the United States 29 or in the organized militia of the state from voluntarily disclosing 30 such membership. 31 (c-1) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 32 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 33 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 34 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 35 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 36 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 37 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 38 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 39 military status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital status, status as 40 a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial 41 status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or 42 discrimination. 43 § 6. Subdivisions 3-b, 4 and 13 of section 296 of the executive law, 44 as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, are 45 amended to read as follows: 46 3-b. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real 47 estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof or 48 any other individual, corporation, partnership or organization for the 49 purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which any such person 50 or any of its stockholders or members may benefit financially, to repre- 51 sent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition 52 with respect to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 53 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 54 military status, sex, caste, disability, marital status, status as a 55 victim of domestic violence, or familial status of the owners or occu- 56 pants in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property is
A. 6920 5 1 located, and to represent, directly or indirectly, that this change will 2 or may result in undesirable consequences in the block, neighborhood or 3 area in which the real property is located, including but not limited to 4 the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or anti-social 5 behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or other facilities. 6 4. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an educational 7 institution to deny the use of its facilities to any person otherwise 8 qualified, or to permit the harassment of any student or applicant, by 9 reason of [his] race, color, religion, disability, national origin, 10 citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity 11 or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, marital status, or 12 status as a victim of domestic violence, except that any such institu- 13 tion which establishes or maintains a policy of educating persons of one 14 sex exclusively may admit students of only one sex. 15 13. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice (i) for any person 16 to boycott or blacklist, or to refuse to buy from, sell to or trade 17 with, or otherwise discriminate against any person, because of the race, 18 creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual 19 orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, 20 status as a victim of domestic violence, disability, or familial status, 21 or of such person, or of such person's partners, members, stockholders, 22 directors, officers, managers, superintendents, agents, employees, busi- 23 ness associates, suppliers or customers, or (ii) for any person wilfully 24 to do any act or refrain from doing any act which enables any such 25 person to take such action. This subdivision shall not apply to: 26 (a) Boycotts connected with labor disputes; or 27 (b) Boycotts to protest unlawful discriminatory practices. 28 § 7. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision 5 of section 296 29 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of 30 the laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 31 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, 32 lessee, sub-lessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or other person 33 having the right to sell, rent or lease a housing accommodation, 34 constructed or to be constructed, or any agent or employee thereof: 35 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise to deny to or withhold 36 from any person or group of persons such a housing accommodation because 37 of the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 38 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 39 status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim 40 of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial status of such 41 person or persons, or to represent that any housing accommodation or 42 land is not available for inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact 43 it is so available. 44 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, 45 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 46 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, disa- 47 bility, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful 48 source of income or familial status in the terms, conditions or privi- 49 leges of the sale, rental or lease of any such housing accommodation or 50 in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith. 51 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 52 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 53 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such housing accommodation or 54 to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 55 purchase, rental or lease of such a housing accommodation which 56 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or
A. 6920 6 1 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 2 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 3 military status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital status, status as 4 a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial 5 status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or 6 discrimination. 7 (4) (i) The provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph 8 shall not apply (1) to the rental of a housing accommodation in a build- 9 ing which contains housing accommodations for not more than two families 10 living independently of each other, if the owner resides in one of such 11 housing accommodations, (2) to the restriction of the rental of all 12 rooms in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex [or], 13 (3) to the rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such 14 rental is by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner 15 of the housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing 16 accommodation or (4) solely with respect to age and familial status to 17 the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 18 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 19 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 20 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 21 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 22 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 23 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 24 apply. However, such rental property shall no longer be exempt from the 25 provisions of subparagraphs one and two of this paragraph if there is 26 unlawful discriminatory conduct pursuant to subparagraph three of this 27 paragraph. 28 (ii) The provisions of subparagraphs one, two, and three of this para- 29 graph shall not apply (1) to the restriction of the rental of all rooms 30 in a housing accommodation to individuals of the same sex, (2) to the 31 rental of a room or rooms in a housing accommodation, if such rental is 32 by the occupant of the housing accommodation or by the owner of the 33 housing accommodation and the owner resides in such housing accommo- 34 dation, or (3) solely with respect to age and familial status to the 35 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of housing accommodations 36 exclusively to persons sixty-two years of age or older and the spouse of 37 any such person, or for housing intended and operated for occupancy by 38 at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per unit. In deter- 39 mining whether housing is intended and operated for occupancy by persons 40 fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 41 (b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall 42 apply. 43 (b) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, 44 lessee, sub-lessee, or managing agent of, or other person having the 45 right of ownership or possession of or the right to sell, rent or lease, 46 land or commercial space: 47 (1) To refuse to sell, rent, lease or otherwise deny to or withhold 48 from any person or group of persons land or commercial space because of 49 the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 50 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 51 status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim 52 of domestic violence, or familial status of such person or persons, or 53 to represent that any housing accommodation or land is not available for 54 inspection, sale, rental or lease when in fact it is so available; 55 (2) To discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color, 56 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation,
A. 6920 7 1 gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, disa- 2 bility, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or 3 familial status in the terms, conditions or privileges of the sale, 4 rental or lease of any such land or commercial space; or in the furnish- 5 ing of facilities or services in connection therewith; 6 (3) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 7 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 8 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of such land or commercial space 9 or to make any record or inquiry in connection with the prospective 10 purchase, rental or lease of such land or commercial space which 11 expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or 12 discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 13 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 14 military status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital status, status as 15 a victim of domestic violence, or familial status; or any intent to make 16 any such limitation, specification or discrimination[.]; or 17 (4) With respect to age and familial status, the provisions of this 18 paragraph shall not apply to the restriction of the sale, rental or 19 lease of land or commercial space exclusively to persons fifty-five 20 years of age or older and the spouse of any such person, or to the 21 restriction of the sale, rental or lease of land to be used for the 22 construction, or location of housing accommodations exclusively for 23 persons sixty-two years of age or older, or intended and operated for 24 occupancy by at least one person fifty-five years of age or older per 25 unit. In determining whether housing is intended and operated for occu- 26 pancy by persons fifty-five years of age or older, Sec. 807(b) (2) (c) 27 (42 U.S.C. 3607(b) (2) (c)) of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as 28 amended, shall apply. 29 (c) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real 30 estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof: 31 (1) To refuse to sell, rent or lease any housing accommodation, land 32 or commercial space to any person or group of persons or to refuse to 33 negotiate for the sale, rental or lease, of any housing accommodation, 34 land or commercial space to any person or group of persons because of 35 the race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration 36 status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military 37 status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim 38 of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial status of such 39 person or persons, or to represent that any housing accommodation, land 40 or commercial space is not available for inspection, sale, rental or 41 lease when in fact it is so available, or otherwise to deny or withhold 42 any housing accommodation, land or commercial space or any facilities of 43 any housing accommodation, land or commercial space from any person or 44 group of persons because of the race, creed, color, national origin, 45 citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity 46 or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, disability, marital 47 status, lawful source of income or familial status of such person or 48 persons. 49 (2) To print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any 50 statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of applica- 51 tion for the purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommodation, 52 land or commercial space or to make any record or inquiry in connection 53 with the prospective purchase, rental or lease of any housing accommo- 54 dation, land or commercial space which expresses, directly or indirect- 55 ly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, creed, 56 color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orien-
A. 6920 8 1 tation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, age, 2 disability, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, 3 lawful source of income or familial status; or any intent to make any 4 such limitation, specification or discrimination. 5 (3) With respect to age and familial status, the provisions of this 6 paragraph shall not apply to the restriction of the sale, rental or 7 lease of any housing accommodation, land or commercial space exclusively 8 to persons fifty-five years of age or older and the spouse of any such 9 person, or to the restriction of the sale, rental or lease of any hous- 10 ing accommodation or land to be used for the construction or location of 11 housing accommodations for persons sixty-two years of age or older, or 12 intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person fifty-five 13 years of age or older per unit. In determining whether housing is 14 intended and operated for occupancy by persons fifty-five years of age 15 or older, Sec. 807 (b) (2) (c) (42 U.S.C. 3607 (b) (2) (c)) of the 16 federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, as amended, shall apply. 17 (d) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real 18 estate board, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, citi- 19 zenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 20 expression, military status, age, sex, caste, disability, marital 21 status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income 22 or familial status of any individual who is otherwise qualified for 23 membership, to exclude or expel such individual from membership, or to 24 discriminate against such individual in the terms, conditions and privi- 25 leges of membership in such board. 26 § 8. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 296-a of the executive law, as 27 separately amended by chapters 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, are 28 amended to read as follows: 29 1. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any creditor or 30 any officer, agent or employee thereof: 31 a. In the case of applications for credit with respect to the 32 purchase, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair or mainte- 33 nance of any housing accommodation, land or commercial space to discrim- 34 inate against any such applicant because of the race, creed, color, 35 national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, 36 gender identity or expression, military status, age, sex, caste, marital 37 status, status as a victim of domestic violence, disability, or familial 38 status of such applicant or applicants or any member, stockholder, 39 director, officer or employee of such applicant or applicants, or of the 40 prospective occupants or tenants of such housing accommodation, land or 41 commercial space, in the granting, withholding, extending or renewing, 42 or in the fixing of the rates, terms or conditions of, any such credit; 43 b. To discriminate in the granting, withholding, extending or renew- 44 ing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms or conditions of, any form of 45 credit, on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship 46 or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 47 expression, military status, age, sex, caste, marital status, status as 48 a victim of domestic violence, disability, or familial status; 49 c. To use any form of application for credit or use or make any record 50 or inquiry which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, 51 specification, or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national 52 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender 53 identity or expression, military status, age, sex, caste, marital 54 status, status as a victim of domestic violence, disability, or familial 55 status;
A. 6920 9 1 d. To make any inquiry of an [applicant concerning his or her] appli- 2 cant's capacity to reproduce, or [his or her] such applicant's use or 3 advocacy of any form of birth control or family planning; 4 e. To refuse to consider sources of an applicant's income or to 5 subject an applicant's income to discounting, in whole or in part, 6 because of an applicant's race, creed, color, national origin, citizen- 7 ship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or 8 expression, military status, age, sex, caste, marital status, status as 9 a victim of domestic violence, childbearing potential, disability, or 10 familial status; or 11 f. To discriminate against a married person because such person 12 neither uses nor is known by the surname of [his or her] their spouse. 13 This paragraph shall not apply to any situation where the use of a 14 surname would constitute or result in a criminal act. 15 2. Without limiting the generality of subdivision one of this section, 16 it shall be considered discriminatory if, because of an applicant's or 17 class of applicants' race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or 18 immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 19 military status, age, sex, caste, marital status, status as a victim of 20 domestic violence, disability, or familial status, (i) an applicant or 21 class of applicants is denied credit in circumstances where other appli- 22 cants of like overall credit worthiness are granted credit, or (ii) 23 special requirements or conditions, such as requiring co-obligors or 24 reapplication upon marriage, are imposed upon an applicant or class of 25 applicants in circumstances where similar requirements or conditions are 26 not imposed upon other applicants of like overall credit worthiness. 27 3. It shall not be considered discriminatory if credit differen- 28 tiations or decisions are based upon factually supportable, objective 29 differences in applicants' overall credit worthiness, which may include 30 reference to such factors as current income, assets and prior credit 31 history of such applicants, as well as reference to any other relevant 32 factually supportable data; provided, however, that no creditor shall 33 consider, in evaluating the credit worthiness of an applicant, aggregate 34 statistics or assumptions relating to race, creed, color, national 35 origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender 36 identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, marital status, 37 status as a victim of domestic violence or disability, or to the likeli- 38 hood of any group of persons bearing or rearing children, or for that 39 reason receiving diminished or interrupted income in the future. 40 § 9. Subdivision 2 and paragraph b of subdivision 3 of section 296-c 41 of the executive law, subdivision 2 as separately amended by chapters 42 202 and 748 of the laws of 2022, paragraphs a, b and c of subdivision 2 43 and paragraph b of subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 305 of the laws 44 of 2023, are amended to read as follows: 45 2. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to: 46 a. refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from internship 47 an intern or to discriminate against such intern in terms, conditions or 48 privileges of employment as an intern because of the intern's age, race, 49 creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual 50 orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, 51 disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, or 52 status as a victim of domestic violence; 53 b. discriminate against an intern in receiving, classifying, disposing 54 or otherwise acting upon applications for internships because of the 55 intern's age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immi- 56 gration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, mili-
A. 6920 10 1 tary status, sex, caste, disability, predisposing genetic character- 2 istics, marital status, or status as a victim of domestic violence; 3 c. print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any state- 4 ment, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application 5 for employment as an intern or to make any inquiry in connection with 6 prospective employment, which expresses directly or indirectly, any 7 limitation, specification or discrimination as to age, race, creed, 8 color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orien- 9 tation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, caste, 10 disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status or 11 status as a victim of domestic violence, or any intent to make any such 12 limitation, specification or discrimination, unless based upon a bona 13 fide occupational qualification; provided, however, that neither this 14 paragraph nor any provision of this chapter or other law shall be 15 construed to prohibit the department of civil service or the department 16 of personnel of any city containing more than one county from requesting 17 information from applicants for civil service internships or examina- 18 tions concerning any of the aforementioned characteristics, other than 19 sexual orientation, for the purpose of conducting studies to identify 20 and resolve possible problems in recruitment and testing of members of 21 minority groups to ensure the fairest possible and equal opportunities 22 for employment in the civil service for all persons, regardless of age, 23 race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, 24 sexual orientation, military status, sex, caste, disability, predispos- 25 ing genetic characteristics, marital status or status as a victim of 26 domestic violence; 27 d. to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person 28 [because he or she] who has opposed any practices forbidden under this 29 article or [because he or she] who has filed a complaint, testified or 30 assisted in any proceeding under this article; or 31 e. to compel an intern who is pregnant to take a leave of absence, 32 unless the intern is prevented by such pregnancy from performing the 33 activities involved in the job or occupation in a reasonable manner. 34 b. subject an intern to unwelcome harassment based on age, sex, caste, 35 race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, 36 military status, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, mari- 37 tal status, status as a victim of domestic violence, national origin, or 38 citizenship or immigration status, or where such harassment has the 39 purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the intern's work 40 performance by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working 41 environment. 42 § 10. This act shall not annul, alter, affect or exempt any employer 43 subject to the provisions of this act from complying with the laws, 44 ordinances, rules or regulations of any locality, except to the extent 45 that such laws, ordinances, rules or regulations are inconsistent with 46 any provision of this act, but no such law, ordinance, rule or regu- 47 lation shall be considered inconsistent if it affords equal or greater 48 protection to the employee. 49 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately.