§ 350-B-1 — Disclosures required in advertisements using a senior specific designation

§ 350-b-1. Disclosures required in advertisements using a senior\nspecific designation. 1. For purposes of this section, "senior specific\ndesignation" shall mean a title, professional designation, credential,\ncertification, or professional description that indicates the person has\nexpertise or training in issues specifically related to seniors in their\nfield.\n 2. (a) Any person or business who uses a senior specific designation\nin making representations for the purpose of inducing, or which are\nlikely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase of the\nindividual's services shall clearly and prominently disclose, in any\nadvertisement and in writing to any prospective client at the initial\nmeeting or consultation with such prospective client, the basis or\nsource of such senior specific designation, including whether the senior\nspecific designation was created by the person or business using it. For\nthe purposes of this section, "clearly and prominently" means:\n (1) in written communications, including print and those made through\nan electronic medium, the message shall be in a type size sufficiently\nnoticeable for an ordinary consumer to read and comprehend it, in type\nthat contrasts with the background against which it appears; and\n (2) in oral communications, the message shall be delivered in a volume\nsufficient for an ordinary consumer to hear it and comprehend it. Such\nmessage shall be in understandable language and syntax regardless of how\nthe message is disseminated.\n (b) If any communication is presented solely through oral, written, or\nvisual means, the message disseminated pursuant to paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision shall be made through the same means.\n (c) The requirements of this subdivision supplement, and shall not be\nconstrued to limit, the obligations of any professional registered or\nlicensed pursuant to any other section of law and regulations\nthereunder, nor shall they be construed to authorize the practice of any\nlicensed profession nor the offer of professional services by any\nunlicensed person.\n 3. In addition to any civil penalty available under section three\nhundred fifty-d of this article, whenever there shall be a violation of\nthis section, application may be made by the attorney general in the\nname of the people of the state of New York to a court or justice having\njurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon\nnotice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and\nrestrain the continuance of such violations; and if it shall appear to\nthe satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant has, in\nfact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such court\nor justice, enjoining and restraining any further violation, without\nrequiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged\nthereby. In connection with any such proposed application, the attorney\ngeneral is authorized to take proof and make a determination of the\nrelevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil\npractice law and rules. In any such proceeding, the court may make\nallowances to the attorney general as provided in paragraph six of\nsubdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil\npractice law and rules, and direct restitution.\n