S 4734: Relates to requiring certain employers to provide workforce demographics and equity measurements to the division of human rights annually, including each employee's race, ethnicity, age, and sex or gender identity or expression, as well as the employee's job category, date of hire, salary or wages, training received, raises, promotions, disciplinary actions, terminations and benefits, including but not limited to unpaid benefits or privileges such as flexible scheduling, the ability to work from home, or the ability to bring children to work.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4734 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- 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 requiring certain employers to provide workforce demographics and equity measurements to the division of human rights annually The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 296-e 2 to read as follows: 3 § 296-e. Workforce demographics and equity measurements. 1. Any 4 employer with greater than one hundred persons in employ per calendar 5 year or who bids, applies, is awarded or receives any combination of 6 state or municipal contracts or grant funds directly or indirectly in 7 excess of fifty thousand dollars per calendar year shall file an annual 8 report documenting employee demographics and equity measurements with 9 the division. Such demographic data shall include each employee's race, 10 ethnicity, age, and sex or gender identity or expression. The equity 11 measurements shall include each employee's job category, date of hire, 12 salary or wages, training received, raises, promotions, disciplinary 13 actions, terminations and benefits, including but not limited to unpaid 14 benefits or privileges such as flexible scheduling, the ability to work 15 from home, or the ability to bring children to work. 16 2. The division shall develop electronic reporting forms to be filed 17 for each employee's data and for the employer's general data. 18 3. The division shall aggregate the electronic forms into a report 19 that lists equity measurements for each employer including but not 20 limited to job category, mean and median earnings, benefits, hiring 21 selection, training, raises, promotions, disciplinary actions, and 22 terminations listed in the form of percentages from highest to lowest by 23 the demographic factors listed above. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08312-01-5 
 S. 4734 2 1 4. The division shall provide the aggregated report to each employer 2 along with a simplified report in plain language. The employer shall 3 provide such simplified report in plain language to each current employ- 4 ee and any former employee employed during the reporting year. The 5 report shall be accompanied by a summary in plain language of employees' 6 rights under Title VII Civil Rights Act Title of 1964, this article, and 7 any applicable local statutes for which the employer falls under juris- 8 diction including instructions and deadlines for filing a complaint to 9 the equal employment opportunity commission, the division, and any other 10 fair employment protection agency or similarly tasked authority with 11 jurisdiction over the employer. The employer shall make the aggregated 12 report available to the public upon request. 13 5. The division shall aggregate all data on a statewide level and 14 provide an annual report to the governor and the legislature that shall 15 be made public on the division's website. 16 6. Failure to comply with the reporting provisions of this section or 17 providing false information may be offered as proof of employment 18 discrimination in a complaint and offered as proof in probation, suspen- 19 sion, and debarment rulings pursuant to subdivision twenty of section 20 two hundred ninety-five of this article. 21 7. Failure to comply with the reporting provisions of this section or 22 providing false information shall require an employer to file an amended 23 disaggregated report with the division and provide an amended aggregated 24 report to all current and former employees employed during the reporting 25 year. The statutory period for filing personal claims with the division 26 and any other New York fair employment protection agency shall begin to 27 run on the day after the amended aggregated report has been provided to 28 all current and former employees who were employed during the reporting 29 year. 30 8. Any board member or officer of the employer who knowingly provides 31 false information, including by encouraging or instructing subordinates 32 to do so, or who knowingly manipulates their corporate structure for the 33 purpose of producing favorable aggregate report outcomes shall be 34 subject to the penalties under section two hundred ninety-nine of this 35 article. 36 § 2. Section 295 of the executive law is amended by adding two new 37 subdivisions 19 and 20 to read as follows: 38 19. To require of any employer reports pursuant to section two hundred 39 ninety-six-e of this article and to carry out the duties set forth in 40 such section. 41 20. To set forth rules and regulations that include standards for 42 probation, suspension and debarment of employers from all state and 43 municipal contracts and grants as direct or indirect awardees and recip- 44 ients on the basis of excessive discrimination claims, selection proce- 45 dures found to have adverse impact, failure to file workforce demograph- 46 ics and equity measurements reports as required in section two hundred 47 ninety-six-e of this article, apparent and probable discriminatory 48 employment and promotion practices discovered through review of work- 49 force demographics and equity measurements reports required in section 50 two hundred ninety-six-e of this article, or by other investigative 51 methods. Employer probationary periods included in the standards 52 promulgated pursuant to this subdivision shall last no less than one 53 year, during which time the employer may demonstrate to the division 54 that such employer has complied with rules and regulations regarding 55 employee selection procedure and employment and promotion practices 56 promulgated pursuant to this article. If after this period the division 
 S. 4734 3 1 finds that the employer still exhibits discriminatory practices in 2 employee selection procedure or employment and promotion practices, 3 suspension periods of six to eighteen months or debarment periods of 4 eighteen months to three years from state and municipal contracts and 5 grants as direct or indirect recipients may be issued. Consecutive 6 probations, suspensions, and debarments may be issued based on continued 7 failure to comply. 8 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 292 of the executive law, as amended by 9 chapter 139 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 10 5. The term "employer" shall include all employers within the state. 11 As set forth in section two hundred ninety-six-e of this article, parent 12 companies and subsidiaries shall be combined to meet criteria for 13 required reporting. For the purposes of this article, (a) the state of 14 New York shall be considered an employer of any employee or official, 15 including any elected official, of the New York state executive, legis- 16 lature, or judiciary, including persons serving in any judicial capaci- 17 ty, and persons serving on the staff of any elected official in New York 18 state, (b) a city, county, town, village or other political subdivision 19 of the state of New York shall be considered an employer of any employee 20 or official, including any elected official, of such locality's execu- 21 tive, legislature or judiciary, including persons serving in any local 22 judicial capacity, and persons serving on the staff of any local elected 23 official. 24 § 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 25 law.