Q&A
Council Member Hanks discusses Bill 871 on caregiver accommodations with NYC Commission on Human Rights
0:52:42
·
4 min
Council Member Kamillah Hanks inquires about the NYC Commission on Human Rights' stance on her proposed Bill 871, which aims to address workplace discrimination against caregivers through reasonable accommodations. Hillary Scrivani from the Commission explains their support for the bill's intent while highlighting concerns about its structure and potential impact.
- The Commission suggests creating a separate section in the law for caregiver accommodations to address unique circumstances and needs.
- Concerns were raised about the broad definition of caregivers and the need for clear language on who is covered and what the accommodation process would entail.
- Hanks emphasizes the importance of ensuring employers understand and adhere to the law, suggesting that current provisions may not be effectively implemented.
Kamillah Hanks
0:52:42
Thank you so much, Chair.
0:52:45
Thank you so much.
0:52:46
I just have a quick question and I just wanted to to hear it in, layman's terms, in plain English, because the the testimony is a little I can't really understand it, so maybe everyone else can't understand it either.
0:53:00
So when you talk about how the administration supports, the intent of my Bill 871, you go into talking about the several elements that warrant further exploration.
0:53:16
I just want to understand in plain English what would that that further exploration be, and how do you see us going forward and coming to an agreement?
0:53:27
Easy peasy.
Hillary Scrivani
0:53:29
Thank you for your question, council member Hanks.
0:53:32
So as we said in the testimony and you, just repeated, we support the aim of the bill to address discrimination in the workplace against caregivers and specifically, by reasonable accommodations.
0:53:46
I think we have 2 key concerns that I can elaborate on, regarding the bill.
0:53:54
The first goes to the the structure.
0:53:56
So as we mentioned in the testimony, there are 4 reasonable accommodation categories that already exist in the law.
0:54:04
That's pregnancy, disability, religion, and then status as a victim of domestic violence.
0:54:11
And each of those reasonable accommodations has their own section in the law, which gets at the unique circumstances, the specific needs that might come out of, being a member of the protected category and what what you need in the workplace and then, also addressing, what, kind of conversations would look like surrounding those reasonable accommodations.
0:54:37
So what we would, suggest is having reasonable accommodations on the basis of caregiver status also have its own section in the law to address that uniqueness.
0:54:51
And, I think related to that, being coupled with disability right now, disability reasonable accommodations also extend in places of public accommodation.
0:55:03
And in housing, it's the only protected category that has that extension for reasonable accommodations.
0:55:10
And, you know, here, we're focused on employment today, but that would be it's another, reason getting at the specific issue with caregivers why OB would see that as warranting its own section of the law.
0:55:22
And then the the second concern, relatedly, has to do, with the impact.
0:55:28
We think a lot of people would potentially be covered by the law's caregiver definition and, could be entitled to reasonable accommodations under this.
0:55:38
So we would want to just make sure, again, going back to having its own section, having language in the law that is clear about who is covered, what a reasonable accommodation process, would look like, to make sure we can educate the public, both employees and employers, about any new rights and obligations.
Kamillah Hanks
0:55:56
Thank you.
0:55:57
I look forward that has, disabilities.
0:55:59
And so, I think that the the the spirit of this bill was done because possibly the current law that you're speaking about isn't understood and quite possibly not followed by employers.
0:56:28
So the reason why this has come up and it's an issue is because while there may be sections in the law, we're not entirely sure that employers are adhering to those sections of the law, so I think we need to be a little bit more specific.
0:56:46
And even if that involves the education of employers and employees, so they understand their rights because if you don't understand your right or if the this section is not being adhered to, then it doesn't matter whether it's there or not.
0:57:00
So, I appreciate that and and we'll be in touch about that.
0:57:03
And, I look forward to making this bill fabulous for you and the people who need it.
0:57:09
Thank you, counsel.
0:57:10
Thank you, Council Member Haynes.
