Senate BillIntroduced
S 3946: Relates to civil actions brought by employees for violations of an employer violating safety and health standards or workplace violence.
What S 3946 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill amends the labor law to allow employees to bring civil actions against employers who violate certain provisions. An employee can file a complaint with the commissioner, and the statute of limitations is tolled from that point until the commissioner issues a final order or the investigation concludes. This allows employees to bring civil actions for damages, costs, and fees, including reinstatement, front pay, lost compensation, and damages. The court has jurisdiction to order all appropriate relief, including injunctions, payment of costs and fees, and rehiring or reinstatement of the employee. The bill takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO LABOR (2026-01-07)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO LABOR |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | REFERRED TO LABOR |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 30, 2025 · 344 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3946 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to civil actions brought by employees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 27-a of the labor law is amended 2 by adding a new paragraph e to read as follows: 3 e. An employee may bring a civil action in a court of competent juris- 4 diction against any employer alleged to have violated the provisions of 5 this section. Such action must be commenced within three years after 6 such violation. The court shall have jurisdiction to order all appropri- 7 ate relief, including enjoining the conduct of any employer; ordering 8 payment of costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the employee by the 9 entity in violation; and ordering rehiring or reinstatement of the 10 employee to their former position with restoration of seniority or an 11 award of front pay in lieu of reinstatement, and an award of lost 12 compensation and damages, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. The 13 statute of limitations shall be tolled from the date an employee files a 14 complaint with the commissioner or the commissioner commences an inves- 15 tigation, whichever is earlier, until an order to comply issued by the 16 commissioner becomes final, or where the commissioner does not issue an 17 order, until the date on which the commissioner notifies the complainant 18 that the investigation has concluded. Investigation by the commissioner 19 shall not be a prerequisite to nor a bar against a person bringing a 20 civil action under this section. 21 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08515-01-5
Text of S 3946 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions