S 9860: Requires employment entities to engage in cooperative dialogue with persons requesting reasonable accommodations, or who such employment entities reasonably should have known may require such reasonable accommodations, due to disability, religion, or status as a victim of domestic violence.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9860  IN SENATE April 9, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. FAHY -- 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 employment entities to engage in cooperative dialogue with certain persons regarding reasonable accommodations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 21-e of section 292 of the executive law, as 2 amended by chapter 369 of the laws of 2015, is amended and two new 3 subdivisions 43 and 44 are added to read as follows: 4 21-e. The term "reasonable accommodation" means actions taken which 5 permit an employee, prospective employee or member with a disability, or 6 a pregnancy-related condition, to perform in a reasonable manner the 7 activities involved in the job or occupation sought or held and include, 8 but are not limited to, provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition 9 or modification of equipment, support services for persons with impaired 10 hearing or vision, job restructuring and modified work schedules; 11 provided, however, that such actions do not impose an undue hardship on 12 the business, program or enterprise of the entity from which action is 13 requested. The entity from which the action is requested shall have the 14 burden of proving that the proposed action or actions would impose undue 15 hardship. 16 43. The term "cooperative dialogue" means a process: 17 (a) by which an employment entity and an employee, prospective employ- 18 ee, or member seeking a reasonable accommodation pursuant to paragraph 19 (a) of subdivision three, paragraph (a) of subdivision ten, and/or para- 20 graph (c) of subdivision twenty-two of section two hundred ninety-six of 21 this article, engages in good faith in a written or oral dialogue 22 concerning: 23 (i) requested accommodation needs; 24 (ii) potential accommodations that may address requested accommodation 25 needs, including but not limited to alternatives to a requested accommo- 26 dation; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15465-01-6 
 S. 9860 2 1 (iii) the difficulties that such potential reasonable accommodation 2 may pose for such employment entity; 3 (b) that is intended to continue until an accommodation reasonable to 4 both parties has been reached; 5 (c) that is intended to be a process for integrating individuals 6 requiring accommodations into the workplace as opposed to forcing them 7 out; and 8 (d) that continues expeditiously, where the results of such process 9 are memorialized in writing, and a copy of such results are provided to 10 the employee. 11 44. The term "employment entity" means an employer, employment agency, 12 labor organization, licensing agency or employee or agent thereof. 13 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 296 of the executive 14 law, as amended by chapter 369 of the laws of 2015, is amended and a new 15 paragraph (e) is added to read as follows: 16 (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, 17 licensing agency, employment agency or labor organization to refuse to 18 provide reasonable accommodations to the known disabilities[,] or preg- 19 nancy-related conditions, or disabilities or pregnancy-related condi- 20 tions that should reasonably have been known, of an employee, prospec- 21 tive employee or member in connection with a job or occupation sought or 22 held or participation in a training program. 23 (e) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employment 24 entity to refuse or otherwise fail to engage in a cooperative dialogue 25 with a person who has requested a reasonable accommodation pursuant to 26 this subdivision or who such employment entity knew or should reasonably 27 have known may require such a reasonable accommodation. 28 § 3. Subdivision 10 of section 296 of the executive law is amended by 29 adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows: 30 (e) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employment 31 entity to refuse or otherwise fail to engage in a cooperative dialogue 32 with a person who has requested a reasonable accommodation pursuant to 33 this subdivision or who such employment entity knew or should reasonably 34 have known may require such a reasonable accommodation. 35 § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 22 of section 296 of the executive 36 law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 7 to read as follows: 37 (7) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employment 38 entity to refuse or otherwise fail to engage in a cooperative dialogue 39 with a person who has requested a reasonable accommodation pursuant to 40 this paragraph or who such employment entity knew or should reasonably 41 have known may require such a reasonable accommodation. 42 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.