BILL NUMBER: S10265
SPONSOR: WEBB
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law and the labor law, in relation to
preventing discrimination and increasing awareness of rights for employ-
ees with menstrual-related conditions, perimenopausal-related conditions
and menopausal-related conditions
 
PURPOSE:
This bill requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations for
people with menstrual or menopausal-related conditions in the workplace
and ensures that employees are aware of their rights for reasonable
accommodations.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends § 296 of the Executive Law to add menstru-
al-related, perimenopause-related, and menopause-related conditions to
the list of known medical conditions for which reasonable accommodations
must be made for.
Section 2 of the bill adds a new § 201-j to the Labor Law to require
employers to provide informational materials and publicly post a notice
relating to the rights of employees for menstrual-related, perimeno-
pause-related, and menopause-related conditions, including reasonable
accommodations and resources for employees being discriminated against.
Section 3 of the bill amends § 292 of the Executive Law to define
menstrual-related, perimenopause-related, and menopause-related condi-
tions.
Section 4 of the bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Approximately two million women living in the United States experience
menopause each year, with 17% of women in the workforce transitioning
from perimenopause to menopause. However, despite these numbers, employ-
ers are often unaware and uneducated on how this biological function
impacts their employees. Many women experience intense headaches, memory
lapses, severe stiffness, panic attacks, debilitating episodes of anxie-
ty, as well as other mental and physical symptoms, during menopause.
This glaring gap in knowledge and understanding of women's health leads
to discrimination against menopausal employees.
According to a recent study conducted by Biote, 65% of women said their
workplace did not offer reasonable accommodations for those experiencing
menopause. Although federal law prohibits discrimination against people
based on sex, age and disability, the law does not specifically protect
against discrimination based on menstruation and menopause, which has
allowed many menopausal claims to fall through the judicial cracks. In
2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of recommenda-
tions that employers could implement at work to better support and
retain menopausal employees, such as providing employees with informa-
tion about menopause and their rights under current law, as well and
strengthening existing policies to better support menopausal workers.
With 28% of the workforce either leaving or considering leaving their
jobs because of menopausal symptoms and treatment, New York must do more
to protect women from workplace discrimination.
This legislation would strengthen New York's labor laws to explicitly
bar employers from discriminating against menopausal or menstruating
employees and provide employees with a menopausal and menstrual bill of
rights.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section
two of this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S10265: 292 executive law