S 8674: Establishes a reasonable accommodation reimbursement grant program under which eligible employers may request a grant for reimbursement of expenses made for reasonable accommodations for applicants or employees with a disability; establishes a reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund for payment of such grants; makes an appropriation of $5,000,000 for such program.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8674  IN SENATE January 7, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. FAHY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the labor law and the state finance law, in relation to establishing a reasonable accommodation reimbursement grant program; and making an appropriation therefor 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 19 to read 2 as follows: 3 § 19. Reasonable accommodation reimbursement grant program. 1. For the 4 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following 5 meanings: 6 (a) "Applicant" means any person, whether employed or unemployed, 7 seeking or entering into any arrangement for employment with an eligible 8 employer. 9 (b) "Eligible employer" means an employer domiciled within New York 10 state and having its principal place of business as identified in its 11 certificate of incorporation in New York state that: 12 (i) employs not more than five hundred employees on any business day 13 during the preceding calendar year; and 14 (ii) generates five million dollars or less in gross annual revenue. 15 (c) (i) "Individual with a disability" means a disabled person who, 16 with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions 17 required of all applicants for the job in question. 18 (ii) For the purposes of this section, "disability" excludes any 19 condition resulting from alcohol or drug abuse which prevents a person 20 from performing the essential functions of the job in question or 21 constitutes a direct threat to property or the safety of others. 22 (iii) If a respondent contends that a person is not an individual with 23 a disability, as defined by this paragraph, the burden shall be on such 24 respondent to prove that it was reasonable to conclude the disabled 25 person, with reasonable accommodation, could not have met the require- 26 ments of the job or that the selected person was demonstrably better 27 able to perform the job. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13802-01-5 
 S. 8674 2 1 (d) "Reasonable accommodation" means steps which must be taken to 2 accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an individual 3 with a disability, which may include, but shall not be limited to: 4 (i) making facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals 5 with disabilities; or 6 (ii) job restructuring, modified work schedules, reassignment to a 7 vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, or 8 the provision of aides on a temporary or periodic basis. 9 (e) "Program" means the reasonable accommodation reimbursement grant 10 program established under subdivision two of this section. 11 (f) "Fund" means the reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund 12 established under section ninety-nine-tt of the state finance law. 13 2. The commissioner shall establish a reasonable accommodation 14 reimbursement grant program for the purpose of reimbursing eligible 15 employers for the cost of expenses incurred in providing reasonable 16 accommodations for individuals with a disability who are either appli- 17 cants or employees of such eligible employers. 18 3. (a) The commissioner shall develop forms and procedures for solic- 19 iting and reviewing applications for reimbursement under this section. 20 (b) The program shall award reimbursements to eligible employers to 21 the extent that funds are available in the account established under 22 section ninety-nine-tt of the state finance law. 23 (c) Applications for the program shall be processed on a first-re- 24 ceived, first-processed basis within each fiscal year until funding is 25 exhausted. Applications received after funding has been exhausted in a 26 fiscal year shall not be eligible for reimbursement. 27 (d) Documentation for reimbursement shall be provided by eligible 28 employers in a form approved by the commissioner. 29 4. The maximum total reimbursement per eligible employer in a fiscal 30 year shall be thirty thousand dollars, provided, however that: 31 (a) submissions for one-time reasonable accommodation expenses shall 32 be no less than two hundred fifty dollars and no more than fifteen thou- 33 sand dollars per individual with a disability; and 34 (b) submissions for ongoing reasonable accommodation expenses shall 35 have no minimum or maximum requirements. 36 5. The commissioner may provide technical assistance regarding 37 requests for reasonable accommodations under the program. 38 6. The commissioner may use up to twenty percent of the fund's bienni- 39 al appropriation amount for administration and marketing of the program. 40 7. No later than sixty days after the effective date of this section, 41 and no later than June thirtieth of each following year, the commission- 42 er shall make publicly available information regarding the availability 43 of grants under the program, and the procedure of requesting reimburse- 44 ment for reasonable accommodations under the program. 45 8. The commissioner shall submit an annual report to the governor, the 46 temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly with 47 data on the employer reimbursements made under the program in the 48 preceding calendar year. Such report shall include, but not be limited 49 to: 50 (a) the number and type of accommodations requested; 51 (b) the cost of accommodations requested; 52 (c) the employers from which requests were made; 53 (d) the number and type of accommodations that were denied and the 54 reasons for such denials; 55 (e) any remaining balance in the fund; and 
 S. 8674 3 1 (f) whether the fund was depleted, the date on which monies in the 2 fund were exhausted, and the number, type, and cost of accommodations 3 that were not reimbursed to employers. 4 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-tt to 5 read as follows: 6 § 99-tt. Reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund. 1. There is 7 hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller and the 8 commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the 9 "reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund". 10 2. Monies allocated to the reasonable accommodation reimbursement fund 11 shall be kept separate and shall not be commingled with any other funds 12 in the custody of the state comptroller. 13 3. Monies of such fund shall consist of all monies appropriated there- 14 for by the legislature. 15 4. Monies of such fund, when allocated, shall be available to the 16 commissioner of labor for the award of grants pursuant to section nine- 17 teen of the labor law. 18 § 3. The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or so much thereof 19 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the reasonable accommo- 20 dation reimbursement fund established under section 99-tt of the state 21 finance law out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund 22 to the credit of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation 23 and finance, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, 24 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such moneys 25 shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller on 26 vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of labor in the 27 manner prescribed by law. 28 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 29 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 30 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 31 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 32 on or before such effective date.