§ 483-BB — Services for victims of human trafficking

New York § 483-BB

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law SOS: Social Services
• Art. 10-D: Services For Victims of Human Trafficking

Text

§ 483-bb. Services for victims of human trafficking. (a) The office of\ntemporary and disability assistance may coordinate with and assist law\nenforcement agencies and district attorney's offices to access\nappropriate services for human trafficking victims.\n (b) The office of temporary and disability assistance shall enter into\ncontracts with non-government organizations for providing services to\nvictims of human trafficking as defined in subdivision (a) of section\nfour hundred eighty-three-aa of this article. Such services shall be\nculturally competent, to the extent practicable, and shall include, but\nare not limited to, case management, emergency temporary housing, health\ncare, mental health counseling, drug addiction screening and treatment,\nlanguage interpretation and translation services, English language\ninstruction, job training and placement assistance, post-employment\nservices for job retention, and services to assist the individual and\nany of his or her family members to establish a permanent residence in\nNew York state or the United States. Such services shall also include\nappropriate voluntary placement in a short-term and/or long-term safe\nhouse, as such terms are defined under subdivision (c) or (d) of section\nfour hundred eighty-three-aa of this article. Placement in a safe house\nshall be available from the initial point of contact between the human\ntrafficking victim and any of the following: law enforcement; a local\nsocial services district; or a social or legal services provider.\nNothing in this article shall prevent placement in a safe house of a\nhuman trafficking victim who is: (1) involved in a proceeding which has\nnot reached final disposition, for the duration of such proceeding; (2)\nnot involved in a pending proceeding; or (3) participating in a program\nfor victims of domestic violence and has been identified as a victim of\nhuman trafficking. Nothing in this article shall preclude the office of\ntemporary and disability assistance, or any local social services\ndistrict, from providing human trafficking victims who are United States\ncitizens or human trafficking victims who meet the criteria pursuant to\nsection one hundred twenty-two of this chapter with any benefits or\nservices for which they otherwise may be eligible.\n (c) (i) An individual who is a victim of the conduct prohibited by\nsection 230.33, 230.34, 230.34-a, 135.35 or 135.37 of the penal law may\nbring a civil action against the perpetrator or whoever knowingly\nadvances or profits from, or whoever should have known he or she was\nadvancing or profiting from, an act in violation of section 230.33,\n230.34, 230.34-a, 135.35 or 135.37 of the penal law to recover actual,\ncompensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, any combination of\nthose or any other appropriate relief, as well as reasonable attorney's\nfees.\n (ii) An action brought pursuant to this subdivision shall be commenced\nwithin fifteen years of the date on which the trafficking victim was\nfreed from the trafficking situation or, if the victim was a minor when\nthe act of human trafficking against the victim occurred, within fifteen\nyears after the date the victim attains the age of majority.\n (iii) If a person entitled to sue is under a disability at the time\nthe cause of action accrues so that it is impossible or impracticable\nfor him or her to bring an action under this subdivision, the time of\nthe disability is not part of the time limited for the commencement of\nthe action. Disability will toll the running of the statute of\nlimitations for this action.\n (A) Disability includes being a minor, lacking legal capacity to make\ndecisions, imprisonment, or other incapacity or incompetence.\n (B) The statute of limitations shall not run against a victim who is a\nminor or who lacks the legal competence to make decisions simply because\na guardian ad litem has been appointed. A guardian ad litem's failure to\nbring a victim's action within the applicable limitation period will not\nprejudice the victim's right to do so after his or her disability\nceases.\n (C) The perpetrator is estopped from asserting a defense of the\nstatute of limitations when the expiration of the statute is due to\nconduct by such perpetrator inducing the victim to delay the filing of\nthe action, or due to threats made by the perpetrator causing duress\nupon the victim.\n (D) The suspension of the statute of limitations due to disability,\nlack of knowledge, or estoppel applies to all other related claims\narising out of the trafficking situation.\n (E) The running of the statute of limitations is postponed during the\npendency of criminal proceedings against the victim.\n (iv) The running of the statute of limitations may be suspended if a\nperson entitled to sue could not have reasonably discovered the cause of\naction due to circumstances resulting from the trafficking situation,\nsuch as psychological trauma, cultural and linguistic isolation, and the\ninability to access services.\n (v) A prevailing victim may also be awarded reasonable attorney's fees\nand litigation costs including, but not limited to, expert witness fees\nand expenses as part of the costs.\n (vi) Restitution paid by the perpetrator to the victim shall be\ncredited against a judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant to\nan action under this subdivision.\n (vii) A civil action filed under this subdivision shall be stayed\nduring the pendency of any criminal action arising out of the same\noccurrence in which the claimant is the victim. As used in this\nsubdivision, a "criminal action" includes investigation and prosecution,\nand is pending until a final adjudication in the trial court or\ndismissal.\n