New York A 4358: Requires employers to engage in a good faith cooperative dialogue with employees who request accommodation due to a religious practice or observance

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
A04358 Summary:

BILL NOA04358 

&nbsp

SAME ASNo Same As

&nbsp

SPONSORFall

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §296, Exec L

&nbsp

Requires employers to engage in a good faith cooperative dialogue with employees who request accommodation due to a religious practice or observance.

Go to top A04358 Actions:

BILL NOA04358 

&nbsp

02/04/2025referred to governmental operations

01/07/2026referred to governmental operations

Go to topA04358 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA04358 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA04358 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4358

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 February 4, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee
 on Governmental Operations

 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring employers to
 engage in a good faith cooperative dialogue with employees who request
 accommodation due to a religious practice or observance

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 296 of the executive law, as
 2 amended by chapter 166 of the laws of 2000, paragraph (a) as amended by
 3 chapter 154 of the laws of 2019, and paragraph (b) as amended and para-
 4 graphs (c) and (d) as added by chapter 539 of the laws of 2002, is
 5 amended to read as follows:
 6 10. (a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any
 7 employer, or an employee or agent thereof, to impose upon a person as a
 8 condition of obtaining or retaining employment, including opportunities
 9 for promotion, advancement or transfers, any terms or conditions that
 10 would require such person to violate or forego a sincerely held practice
 11 of [his or her] such person's religion, including but not limited to the
 12 observance of any particular day or days or any portion thereof as a
 13 sabbath or other holy day or religious holiday in accordance with the
 14 requirements of [his or her] such person's religion or the wearing of
 15 any attire, clothing, or facial hair in accordance with the requirements
 16 of [his or her] such person's religion, unless, after engaging in a bona
 17 fide effort which shall include a cooperative dialogue, the employer
 18 demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate the employee's
 19 or prospective employee's sincerely held religious observance or prac-
 20 tice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.
 21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an employee
 22 shall not be entitled to premium wages or premium benefits for work
 23 performed during hours to which such premium wages or premium benefits
 24 would ordinarily be applicable, if the employee is working during such

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD08678-01-5

 A. 4358 2

 1 hours only as an accommodation to [his or her] such employee's sincerely
 2 held religious requirements. Nothing in this paragraph or paragraph (b)
 3 of this subdivision shall alter or abridge the rights granted to an
 4 employee concerning the payment of wages or privileges of seniority
 5 accruing to that employee.
 6 (b) Except where it would cause an employer to incur an undue hard-
 7 ship, no person shall be required to be present or remain at [his or
 8 her] such person's place of employment during any day or days or portion
 9 thereof that, as a requirement of [his or her] such person's religion,
 10 [he or she] such person observes as [his or her] such person's sabbath
 11 or other holy day or religious holiday, including a reasonable time
 12 prior and subsequent thereto for travel between [his or her] such
 13 person's place of employment and [his or her] such person's home,
 14 provided however, that any such absence from work shall, wherever prac-
 15 ticable [in the reasonable judgment of] and as agreed upon between the
 16 employer and the employee pursuant to a cooperative dialogue, be made up
 17 by an equivalent amount of time and work at some other mutually conven-
 18 ient time, or shall be charged against any leave with pay ordinarily
 19 grante