Yesterday, New York Governor Hochul signed the Reasonable Accommodation Anti-Retaliation Act (S3398/A4898), which amends the New York State Human Rights Law (specifically, section 296(7) of the New York Executive Law) to clarify that it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice to retaliate against an individual for requesting a reasonable accommodation.
In particular:
This bill closes this loophole in our state’s Human Rights Law by clarifying that the law’s anti-retaliation provisions extend to individuals requesting reasonable accommodations in addition to those who complain of discriminatory practices. It aligns our state Human Rights Law with its federal and city counterparts while better achieving the original intent of the legislature to ensure that all individuals making requests for accommodations at the job site, in housing, or in places of public accommodation are protected against retaliation from making such requests.
This law shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date.