A 278: Enacts the "New York emergency expedited temporary work permit act" to allow asylum seekers to apply for and be granted temporary work permits while their federal immigration status is being determined.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 278 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CRUZ, FORREST, ZACCARO, GALLAGHER, GONZALEZ-RO- JAS, STIRPE, WEPRIN, BORES, HEVESI, PAULIN, RIVERA, RAGA, RAMOS, SHRESTHA, SIMON, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor 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 The federal immigration law has 4 become outdated and an impediment to New York state's ability to quickly 5 and properly integrate asylum seekers allowed to enter the United States 6 of America.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: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01235-01-5 
 A. 278 2 1 ARTICLE 4-B 2 ASYLEE WORKER PERMIT PROGRAM 3 Section 155. Definitions. 4 156. Asylee worker permit program. 5 157. Rules and regulations. 6 158. Construction. 7 § 155. Definitions. For the purposes of this article: 8 1. The term "asylee" shall have the same meaning as defined in the 9 federal immigration and nationality act (8 U.S.C. § 1101) provided that 10 for the purposes of this article such term shall include both asylees 11 who have filed federal paperwork to obtain asylum status and those who 12 are in the process of filing such application. 13 2. The term "employment" shall include employment in both the private 14 and public sectors. 15 § 156. Asylee worker permit program. 1. The commissioner shall estab- 16 lish a temporary program for the expedited issuance of work permits by 17 the department to asylum seekers residing in New York within forty-five 18 days of application. 19 2. No fees shall be charged for the issuance of asylee worker permits. 20 3. Permits issued under this section shall be valid for a period of 21 eighteen months from issuance, but may be renewed pursuant to regu- 22 lations adopted by the department. 23 § 157. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate emer- 24 gency rules and regulations for the issuance of worker permits to 25 asylees within thirty days of the effective date of this section. 26 § 158. Construction. Nothing contained within this article shall be 27 construed to grant any additional rights not explicitly provided for 28 pursuant to the provisions of this article. 29 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 291 of the executive law, as amended by 30 chapter 8 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 31 1. The opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination because 32 of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender 33 identity or expression, military status, sex, marital status, [or] disa- 34 bility, or status as an asylum seeker, is hereby recognized as and 35 declared to be a civil right. 36 § 5. Section 53 of the civil service law, as amended by chapter 669 37 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 38 § 53. Noncitizen status. Except as otherwise provided by law, no 39 noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United 40 States shall be denied appointment to a position in the competitive 41 class of civil service for reasons of noncitizen status. The state and 42 municipal civil service commissions may, by rule, provide for the 43 appointment of persons who are asylum seekers and who are issued worker 44 permits under article four-B of the labor law. 45 § 6. This act shall take effect on the forty-fifth day after it shall 46 have become a law and shall expire 2 years after such effective date 47 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed.