Clarifies the standard for when a practice has a discriminatory effect

Latest action Feb 25, 2026

Clarifies the standard for intentional discrimination or retaliation claims by requiring a person or persons prove that an unlawful motivation was a motivating factor and not "the sole motivating factor" or a "but-for cause" of the challenged treatment.

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Where it stands

Passed one of the two chambers; it still needs the other.

Introduced
In committee
Up for a vote
Passed one chamber
Passed
Enacted

New York State Senate

Same as A4992, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Amends the Executive Law.

Committee

Governmental Operations · New York State Assembly

Also referred to Investigations And Government Operations · New York State Senate.

Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

To expand protections against retaliation and age discrimination by clarifying that discrimination need only be a "motivating factor" to be illegal.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Recorded votes

Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateFeb 25, 2026Result: passed
(50) (8) (0) (5)
Vote: Committee vote · Investigations And Government Operations
Senate Investigations And Government OperationsFeb 10, 2026Result: passed
(6) (1) (0) (0)
Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateMar 10, 2025Result: passed
(51) (10) (0) (2)
Vote: Committee vote · Investigations And Government Operations
Senate Investigations And Government OperationsFeb 3, 2025Result: passed
(6) (1) (0) (0)

Cosponsors

Chris Burdick, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas and 4 more on Agora

Democratic6

See the full list on nysenate.gov

The sponsor's argument

Why Shelley Mayer says this is needed

Recent federal court decisions, including Bostock v. Clayton County, have required that claims for age discrimination, and all claims for retaliation, can only be established if "but-for" the discrimination, the challenged action would not have taken place. For example, if the complaint believes their hours were cut in an act of retaliation for reporting sexual harassment, they must establish that their hours would not have been cut but for their decision to report harassment. Because judges have decided to interpret the New York State Human Rights Law in line with federal statute, this onerous standard has also been applied to age discrimination and retaliation claims brought under state law. The "but-for" standard is confusing to jurors and represents an unat- tainable standard in many cases. In practice, it means that some level of discrimination is acceptable if an employer can demonstrate other reasons for their action. This bill will establish the more attainable "motivating factor" standard which requires that the action was moti- vated, at least in part, by discrimination or retaliation. This is the current standard for disparate treatment claims of discrimination under the federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Accordingly, this change will provide a uniform standard in all claims of retaliation and discrimination.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.

Full history

Feb 25, 2026
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Feb 25, 2026
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Feb 25, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Feb 24, 2026
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Feb 11, 2026
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate

Show full history (14 earlier events)

Feb 10, 2026
1ST Report CAL.342
1ST REPORT CAL.342
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Died in Assembly
DIED IN ASSEMBLY
NY Assembly
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
NY Senate
May 29, 2025
Amend by Restoring to Original Print 4992
AMEND BY RESTORING TO ORIGINAL PRINT 4992
NY Assembly
May 21, 2025
Amend (t) and Recommit to Governmental Operations
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Mar 10, 2025
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Mar 10, 2025
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Mar 10, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Feb 10, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
NY Assembly
Feb 5, 2025
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Feb 4, 2025
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate
Feb 3, 2025
1ST Report CAL.249
1ST REPORT CAL.249
NY Senate
Jan 17, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
NY Senate

About this record

Summary: The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.
Cosponsors: The list shows the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.
Party colors: Parties are shown in the same neutral colors.
Source: From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Nov 1, 2026. About our data

Read the record

Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.

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