STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2640 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern- ment Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to including veterans in the definition of military status for purposes of unlawful discrimi- nation The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 28 of section 292 of the executive law, as 2 added by chapter 106 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 3 28. The term "military status" when used in this article means a 4 person's participation in the military service of the United States or 5 the military service of the state, including but not limited to, the 6 armed forces of the United States, the army national guard, the air 7 national guard, the New York naval militia, the New York guard, service 8 as a commissioned officer in the public health service, commissioned 9 officer of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration or 10 commissioned officer of the environmental sciences services adminis- 11 tration, a cadet at a United States armed forces services academy, and 12 such additional forces as may be created by the federal or state govern- 13 ment as authorized by law. "Military status" shall also include a 14 person's participation in the military service of the United States or 15 the military service of the state if such person has been released from 16 such service. 17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00532-03-5