§ 203-E — Prohibition of discrimination based on an employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making

§ 203-e. Prohibition of discrimination based on an employee's or a\ndependent's reproductive health decision making. 1. An employer shall be\nprohibited from accessing an employee's personal information regarding\nthe employee's or the employee's dependent's reproductive health\ndecision making, including but not limited to, the decision to use or\naccess a particular drug, device or medical service without the\nemployee's prior informed affirmative written consent.\n 2. An employer shall not:\n (a) discriminate nor take any retaliatory personnel action against an\nemployee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges\nof employment because of or on the basis of the employee's or\ndependent's reproductive health decision making, including, but not\nlimited to, a decision to use or access a particular drug, device or\nmedical service; or\n (b) require an employee to sign a waiver or other document which\npurports to deny an employee the right to make their own reproductive\nhealth care decisions, including use of a particular drug, device, or\nmedical service.\n 3. An employee may bring a civil action in any court of competent\njurisdiction against an employer alleged to have violated the provisions\nof this section. In any civil action alleging a violation of this\nsection, the court may:\n (a) award damages, including, but not limited to, back pay, benefits\nand reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred to a prevailing\nplaintiff;\n (b) afford injunctive relief against any employer that commits or\nproposes to commit a violation of the provisions of this section;\n (c) order reinstatement; and/or\n (d) award liquidated damages equal to one hundred percent of the award\nfor damages pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision unless an\nemployer proves a good faith basis to believe that its actions in\nviolation of this section were in compliance with the law.\n 4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any rights of\nan employee provided through any other provision of law, common law or\ncollective bargaining unit.\n 5. Any act of retaliation for an employee exercising any rights\ngranted under this section shall subject an employer to separate civil\npenalties under this section. For the purposes of this section,\nretaliation or retaliatory personnel action shall mean discharging,\nsuspending, demoting, or otherwise penalizing an employee for:\n (a) making or threatening to make, a complaint to an employer,\nco-worker, or to a public body, that rights guaranteed under this\nsection have been violated;\n (b) causing to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this\nsection; or\n (c) providing information to, or testifying before, any public body\nconducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any such violation\nof a law, rule, or regulation by such employer.\n 6. An employer that provides an employee handbook to its employees\nmust include in the handbook notice of employee rights and remedies\nunder this section.\n 7. If any word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or\npart of this section or the application thereof to any person or\ncircumstances shall, for any reason, be adjudged by any court of\ncompetent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,\nimpair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, and the application thereof\nto other persons or circumstances, but shall be confined in its\noperation to the word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,\nor part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such\njudgment shall have been rendered and to the person or circumstances\ninvolved. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that\nthis section would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had\nnot been included herein.\n