Senate BillIntroduced
S 6298: Requires that employees laid off due to the COVID-19 state disaster emergency retain their salary, seniority and benefits once rehired.
What S 6298 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to protect the rights of employees who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It requires that employees who were terminated but later rehired by the same employer retain their original salary, seniority, and benefits. This means that if an employee was fired during the pandemic but later came back to work, they will be treated as if they never left the company, in terms of pay, job status, and benefits. The law will take effect immediately, ensuring that employees are protected from losing their hard-earned benefits.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO LABOR (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 6298
- What is the current status of S 6298?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 6298 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO LABOR".
- Did S 6298 pass?
- Not yet. S 6298 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 6298, and where is it now?
- S 6298 was authored by Sen. James Sanders. Its committee of record is Senate Labor.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO LABOR |
| Mar. 10, 2025 | REFERRED TO LABOR |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 10, 2025 · 242 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6298 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- 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 requiring that employees laid off due to the COVID-19 state disaster emergency retain their salary, seniority and benefits once rehired The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 219-e to 2 read as follows: 3 § 219-e. Rights of rehired employees. Any employee who has had their 4 employment terminated other than a discharge for cause, voluntary depar- 5 ture, or retirement during the COVID-19 state disaster emergency period 6 beginning on March seventh, two thousand twenty declared pursuant to 7 executive order two hundred two of two thousand twenty and has been 8 rehired by the same person, corporation, limited liability company, or 9 association previously employing such individual in any occupation, 10 industry, trade, business or service shall retain the salary, seniority, 11 and benefits that such employee had accrued prior to such termination of 12 employment. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10384-01-5
Text of S 6298 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions