§ 391-U — Pricing goods and services on the basis of gender prohibited

* § 391-u. Pricing goods and services on the basis of gender\nprohibited. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the\nfollowing terms shall have the following meanings:\n (a) "Business" shall mean any business acting within the state of New\nYork that sells goods to any individual or entity including, but not\nlimited to, retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, or distributors;\n (b) "Goods" shall mean any consumer product used, bought or rendered\nprimarily for personal, family or household purposes;\n (c) "Services" shall mean any consumer services used, bought or\nrendered primarily for personal, family or household purposes;\n (d) "Substantially similar" shall mean:\n (i) two goods that exhibit no substantial differences in: (A) the\nmaterials used in production; (B) the intended use of the good; (C) the\nfunctional design and features of the good; and (D) the brand of the\ngood; or\n (ii) two services that exhibit no substantial difference in: (A) the\namount of time to provide the services; (B) the difficulty in providing\nthe services; and (C) the cost of providing the services. A difference\nin coloring among any good shall not be construed as a substantial\ndifference for the purposes of this paragraph.\n 2. No person, firm, partnership, company, corporation, or business\nshall charge a price for any two goods that are substantially similar,\nif such goods are priced differently based on the gender of the\nindividuals for whom the goods are marketed and intended.\n 3. No person, firm, partnership, company, corporation or business\nshall charge a price for any services that are substantially similar if\nsuch services are priced differently based upon the gender of the\nindividuals for whom the services are performed, offered, or marketed.\n 4. Nothing in this section prohibits price differences in goods or\nservices based specifically upon the following:\n (a) the amount of time it took to manufacture such goods or provide\nsuch services;\n (b) the difficulty in manufacturing such goods or offering such\nservices;\n (c) the cost incurred in manufacturing such goods or offering such\nservices;\n (d) the labor used in manufacturing such goods or providing such\nservices;\n (e) the materials used in manufacturing such goods or providing such\nservices; or\n (f) any other gender-neutral reason for having increased the cost of\nsuch goods or services.\n 5. Any person, firm, partnership, company, corporation, or business\nthat provides services, as defined by this section, shall provide the\ncustomer with a complete written price list upon request.\n 6. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application\nmay be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the\nstate of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue an\ninjunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days,\nto enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations. If it shall\nappear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant\nhas, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such\ncourt or justice, enjoining or restraining any violation, without\nrequiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged\nthereby. In any such proceeding the court may make allowances to the\nattorney general as provided in section eighty-three hundred three of\nthe civil practice law and rules, and may make direct restitution. In\nconnection with any such proposed application, the attorney general is\nauthorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant facts\nand to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and\nrules. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this\nsection has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty not to exceed\ntwo hundred fifty dollars for a first violation, and a civil penalty not\nto exceed five hundred dollars for each subsequent violation. For the\npurposes of this section, all identical items priced on the basis of\ngender shall be considered a single violation.\n * NB There are 2 § 391-u's\n