S 496: Requires employers to inform their employees that non-disclosure or non-disparagement provisions in their employment contracts do not prohibit them from speaking with law enforcement, the equal employment opportunity commission, the state division of human rights, a local commission on human rights, or an attorney retained by the employee.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 496 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. FERNANDEZ, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to the commissioner's duty to ensure employers inform employees about certain provisions in employ- ment contracts The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 21 of the labor law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 17 to read as follows: 3 17. Shall require employers to inform their employees that non-disclo- 4 sure or non-disparagement provisions in their employment contracts do 5 not prohibit them from speaking with law enforcement, the equal employ- 6 ment opportunity commission, the state division of human rights, a local 7 commission on human rights, or an attorney retained by the employee. 8 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00246-01-5