BILL NUMBER: S515
SPONSOR: PERSAUD
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to flexible working arrange-
ments for parents and legal guardians when day care centers and schools
are closed during a state or local disaster emergency
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of the bill is to create more flexibility in the workplace
for working parents in the event schools and daycares are closed due to
a disaster emergency.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 202-n to the labor law regarding flexible
work arrangements for parents and legal guardians during a state or
local disaster emergency.
Section 2 provides that nothing in this act shall be construed to
prevent a locality from enacting and enforcing local laws or ordinances
which meet or exceed the standards or requirements set forth in this
act:.
Section 3 provides for the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
COVID-19 revealed cracks in our society, including how our society
treats working families. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have been
closed or operating on a hybrid remote and in person basis to prevent
the spread of the pandemic. Parents and children alike have had to
adjust to remote learning and children being home instead of in school,
sometimes unpredictably. Daycare centers have been closed for the
protection of children and staff. This created a new crisis for working
parents to manage care for their children and manage their jobs - how
can a parent be in two places at once? For millions of parents, dispro-
portionately women, the answer was: they cannot. According to data from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of February 2021, nearly 2.4 million
women have left the workforce since the same time last year. In compar-
ison, 1.8 million men have left the workforce. This issue goes beyond
COVID, as school and day care closures occur in other types of disaster
emergencies, like New Yorkers saw during Hurricane Sandy.
This bill will take us a step in the right direction in ensuring parents
can provide care for their children in an emergency without risking
their livelihoods. For parents that can work from home, under this bill
parents would be presumed entitled to do so when schools or day care
centers are closed during a disaster emergency. For parents that either
cannot work from home or seek other types of flexibility such as a
temporary schedule change in that situation, this bill would institute a
right to request such flexible work arrangements without fear of retali-
ation. While employers:would not be required to accept requests, they
would be required to repond and encouraged to find alternatives. Parents
deserve to feel secure in their jobs and in the safety and education of
their children.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023/2024: S1209 Passed Senate / referred to Labor in the Assembly
2021/2022: S5065 referred to Labor
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately employees
may begin the process of requesting remote work or flexible working ò
arrangements pursuant to this act.