A 10835: Prohibits falsely impersonating an employee organization or an employee representative with the intent to deceive the recipient and thereby cause harm to such recipient or employee organization by the use of fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, or other deception in making and disseminating a verbal, written or electronic communication; provides that the attorney general may bring an action or proceeding to enjoin such unlawful acts or practices.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10835  IN ASSEMBLY April 1, 2026 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GRIFFIN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Governmental Employees AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to prohibiting false- ly impersonating an employee organization or employee organization representative The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section 2 216 to read as follows: 3 § 216. Falsely impersonating an employee organization or employee 4 organization representative. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, 5 the following terms shall have the following meanings: 6 (a) "Falsely impersonating an employee organization or employee organ- 7 ization representative" shall mean the knowing use of fraud or misrepre- 8 sentation to make and disseminate a verbal, written, or electronic 9 communication, with the intent to undermine or interfere with the oper- 10 ations of an employee organization, or otherwise negatively impact an 11 employee organization, and that purports to be authorized or otherwise 12 approved by such employee organization or employee organization repre- 13 sentative but that has not been authorized or approved by such employee 14 organization or employee organization representative. 15 (b) "Employee organization representative" shall mean any person 16 authorized by an employee organization, pursuant to its constitution, 17 bylaws or other internal rules or procedures, to act on behalf of such 18 employee organization. 19 2. No person shall falsely impersonate an employee organization or an 20 employee organization representative. 21 3. (a) An employee organization or an employee organization represen- 22 tative alleging a violation of this section may bring a civil action in 23 a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain damages. 24 (b) In addition to and not in lieu of any other damages that may be 25 claimed, an employee organization or an employee organization represen- 26 tative shall receive statutory damages in an amount of fifteen thousand 27 dollars per incident in any action in which such employee organization EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15363-01-6 
 A. 10835 2 1 or employee organization representative establishes that the defendant 2 has falsely impersonated an employee organization or an employee organ- 3 ization representative in violation of this section. 4 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.