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A07506 Summary:

BILL NOA07506
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORGonzalez-Rojas
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 74, Civ Rts L
 
Provides that certain communications made without malice regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination shall be deemed privileged; provides that a prevailing defendant in an action brought against such defendant for making a communication that is privileged shall be entitled to attorney's fees and costs for such defense.
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A07506 Actions:

BILL NOA07506
 
05/25/2023referred to governmental operations
01/03/2024referred to governmental operations
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A07506 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7506
 
SPONSOR: Gonzalez-Rojas
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to privileged communi- cations in defamation actions   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Provides that certain communications made without malice regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination shall be deemed privileged.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends Section 74 of the civil rights law to provide privi- leges in civil action for defamation in addition to existing privileges in action for libel. This section states that a communication made by an individual, without malice, regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination shall be deemed privileged. The section states the legal fees entitled to defendants in defamation actions brought against them for communications deemed privileged by this subdi- vision, including reasonable attorney's fees and costs for successfully defending themselves in such litigation, treble damages for harm caused to them, and punitive damages or other relief permitted by the law. Section 1 also clarifies that "communication" refers to factual informa- tion related to an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimi- nation experienced by the individual making the communication. This subdivision shall only apply to individuals that have or had a reason- able basis to file a complaint of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination. Section 2 sets the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: The MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements heightened the country's awareness of assault, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace and beyond, initiating a national discussion on such issues and encour- aging many survivors to share their stories about the people and / or institutions that have harmed them. These movements highlighted that abuse, harassment, and discrimination are incredibly common, with 81% of women and 43% of men reporting that they've experienced some form of sexual harassment and / or assault in their lifetime (National Sexual Violence Resource Center), and discrimination based on race, gender, age, and sexuality being experienced or witnessed by 61% of U.S. employ- ees (Glassdoor). While more survivors have come forward about their abuse and discrimination, they have also faced a surge of defamation lawsuits by their perpetrators which can be emotionally damaging, time consuming, and financially straining for survivors (Legal Momentum). These lawsuits silence and discredit survivors, discouraging them from speaking out about their abuse and allowing perpetrators to further abuse survivors through litigation. This is especially concerning given that most sexual assaults already go unreported, with 20% of survivors citing a fear of retaliation as their primary reason for not reporting (The Criminal Justice System Statistics). Frivolous defamation lawsuits can be prevented by statements being clas- sified as privileged to protect from liability for defamation. New York State provides limited privileges for survivors as Section 74 of the civil rights law only provides privileges in civil action for libel cases, not defamation, and survivors are only entitled to a "qualified" privilege when they report crimes to the police. Qualified privilege may be overcome if the perpetrator claiming defamation demonstrates that the person who reported the crime acted with "actual malice" - that they acted out of personal spite and intentionally or recklessly disregarded the falsity of their statement (Kaufman, Lieb, Lebowitz, & Frick). Abso- lute privilege must be extended to communications regarding factual information of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination in defama- tion cases to prevent survivors from having such lawsuits filed against them. Anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (anti-SLAPP) laws are designed to avoid and quickly dismiss retaliatory lawsuits that are filed to intimidate and silence opponents exercising their First Amend- ment rights. A bill was signed into law in 2020 expanding New York's antiSLAPP law to any lawsuit arising out of First Amendment protected communication on issues of public concern and requiring the awarding of costs and attorney fees in frivolous actions involving public petition and participation. While this bill was a step in the right direction, New York State must do more to champion survivors by expanding the priv- ileges afforded to survivors in defamation lawsuits. This bill will amend the civil rights law to provide that communications with factual information related to incidents of sexual assault, harass- ment, or discrimination are privileged and thus protected from liability for defamation. This would provide greater protections for victims of assault, harassment, and discrimination against illegitimate claims of defamation and prevent defamation laws from being weaponized by perpe- trators to silence and cause further harm to survivors. This legislation would allow survivors to reclaim power by speaking out about their abuse, harassment, and discrimination without the threat of litigation. Protecting and uplifting the voices of survivors through this bill is a necessary step in effectively combating abuse, harassment, discrimi- nation, and gender-based violence.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: To be determined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A07506 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7506
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 25, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental Operations
 
        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to privileged communi-
          cations in defamation actions
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 74 of the civil rights law, as added by chapter 310
     2  of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  74.  Privileges  in action for libel or defamation.  1. (a) A civil
     4  action cannot be maintained against any person, firm or corporation, for
     5  the publication of a fair and true report of  any  judicial  proceeding,
     6  legislative  proceeding or other official proceeding, or for any heading
     7  of the report which is  a  fair  and  true  headnote  of  the  statement
     8  published.
     9    (b)  This  [section  does]  subdivision  shall  not  apply  to a libel
    10  contained in any other matter added  by  any  person  concerned  in  the
    11  publication;  or  in the report of anything said or done at the time and
    12  place of such a proceeding which was not a part thereof.
    13    2. (a) A communication made by an individual, without malice,  regard-
    14  ing  an  incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination shall
    15  be deemed privileged.
    16    (b) A prevailing defendant in any defamation  action  brought  against
    17  such defendant for making a communication that is privileged under para-
    18  graph  (a)  of  this  subdivision  shall be entitled to their reasonable
    19  attorney's fees and costs for successfully defending themselves in  such
    20  litigation, plus treble damages for any harm caused to them by the defa-
    21  mation action against them, in addition to punitive damages available or
    22  any other relief otherwise permitted by law.
    23    (c) This subdivision shall only apply to an individual that has, or at
    24  any  time had, a reasonable basis to file a complaint of sexual assault,
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11146-01-3

        A. 7506                             2
 
     1  harassment, or discrimination, whether the complaint is, or  was,  filed
     2  or not.
     3    (d) For the purposes of this subdivision, "communication" means factu-
     4  al  information related to an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or
     5  discrimination experienced by the individual making  the  communication,
     6  including, but not limited to, any of the following:
     7    (1) an act of sexual assault;
     8    (2) an act of sexual harassment;
     9    (3)  an  act  of  workplace  harassment  or discrimination, failure to
    10  prevent an act of workplace harassment or discrimination, aiding,  abet-
    11  ting,  inciting,  compelling, or coercing an act of workplace harassment
    12  or discrimination, or an act of retaliation against a person for report-
    13  ing or opposing workplace harassment or discrimination; or
    14    (4) an act of harassment or discrimination, or an act  of  retaliation
    15  against  a  person  for  reporting  harassment or discrimination, by the
    16  owner of a housing accommodation.
    17    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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