WINS FOR THE DISTRICT

Labor:

• Farm Labor Fair Labor Standards Act (S6578 - 2019)

• Recognized Domestic Workers under NY Human Rights Law (S5064- 2021)

• Construction Wage Theft Bill (S2766C- 2021).

• Prevailing Wage Legislation

• Raised and Indexed the Minimum Wage

• First-of-its-kind $2.1 Billion Excluded Workers Fund (Budget)

• Captive Audience Ban (S4982- 2023)

• Language Access in Workers Compensation (S1022A- 2021)

• Retail Worker Safety Act (S8358C- 2023)

• Warehouse Worker Protection Act (S8922A- 2021)

• Warehouse Injury Reduction Act (S5081C- 2023)

• Statewide Salary Disclosure Law (S9427- 2021)

• Held first-ever workers' compensation oversight hearing

• Ended mandatory overtime for nurses

• Passed anti-bullying legislation for school staff (S1746- 2023)

• Brokered a meeting between the Minor Leaguers and Steve Cohen to pave the way for minor league players joining the MLBPA (S8602 - 2024)

• My bill outlining a bailout for taxi medallion holders used to negotiate the final deal

• Protected an employees right to privacy by barring employers from accessing login information to private social media accounts (S2518A- 2023).

• Established penalties for discrimination or retaliation against employees such as contacting US Immigration Authorities. (S5791- 2019)

• Established the Workplace Fatality Registry (S8828- 2020)

• Extended the debarment terms under Davis-Bacon Act (S8600- 2023)

• Revised the calculation system for determining eligibility for partial unemployment insurance benefits with a system that is based on the claimant’s weekly earnings rather than the number of days worked per week (S1042A- 2021).

• Expanded protections to employees and former employees from retaliatory actions by employers for the reporting of illegal or dangerous business activities (S4394A- 2021)

• Temporary Disability Insurance Reform 

• Closed a loophole that allowed employers to avoid Unemployment Insurance contributions in situations involving multiple entities where an individual is paid by one. (S6469- 2019)

• Removed irregularities in a cover sheet accompanying application for full board review as grounds for denial of said application (S829- 2021) 

• Redefined the term “covered renewable energy system” to include systems with a capacity of one or more megawatts alternating current in an effort to increase the number of distributed solar projects subject to prevailing wage (S8648- 2021).  

• Established light duty during pregnancy as well as parental leave for commuter rail employees (S8831).

• Directed the NYS Public Employment Relations Board to establish and promulgate rules authorizing an electronic filing program, modernizing the system for the public (S9403A- 2021).

• Expanded protections for employees who developed an invention without the use of the employer’s property or trade secrets, to belong to the employee (S5640- 2023).

• Provided language access services for injured employees (S6096-2023). 

• Protected call center workers by preventing the displacement of call center workers who provide call center services for the government in certain circumstances (S6328B- 2023).

• Authorized the Workers Compensation Board to impose additional oversight on public group self-insurers while, at the same time, providing additional flexibility in those programs that will reduce the cost of coverage to local governments and other public entities (S6410A- 2023). 

• Provided protection of a performer’s digital voice and likeness from non consensual distribution through the use of AI (S7676B- 2023).

• Created a more streamlined system for DOL to collect and maintain certified payroll (S8608A- 2024). 

• Extended provisions regarding fees and expenses for Unemployment Insurance proceedings (S9368- 2024). 

• Extended the allowance for certain categories of permissible wage deductions (S9369- 2024).

• Allowed occupational therapist assistants to provide care to workers’ compensation patients (S9462A- 2024). 

• NLRB Trigger Law- Authorizes the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to assert jurisdiction over disputes between employers and recognized employee organizations if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unable to successfully assert jurisdiction (A8034A- 2025).

• Mechanical Insulation Energy Savings Program- Establishes a grant program for qualified mechanical insulation expenditures (S2457B- 2025).

• Elevator Safety Act Clarification- Clarifies provisions of the Elevator Safety Act enacted in 2020 (S7944A- 2025). 

• Currently, 18 bills I sponsor have been reported from Committees. Here are some highlights:

• S161 - Expands the eligibility period for indigent legal service attorneys to receive certain loan forgiveness and increases loan reimbursement for certain attorneys who work in legal services with indigent clients.

• S172 - Temporary Disability Insurance reform.

• S1692A - Commissary Reform  in the Senate to cap correctional facility markups at 3%.

• S5990C - Provides those seeking and offering jobs, promotions, or transfers opportunities with more information about the compensation and benefits of the positions they are considering.

 

Funding

• Tens of millions of dollars in apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship funding

• Expanded child care subsidy eligibility from 275% of the federal poverty level to 400% of the federal poverty level

• Funding to expand UPK statewide

• Cannabis Workforce Initiative

• Restored funding for the Langston Hughes library

 

Transportation

• MTA Capital Dashboard Open Data Law

• Killed Cuomo’s boondoggle air train

• Used bill to restructure taxi medallion loans

 

Climate

• Killed the NRG fracked gas plant

• Prevailing Wage in the Environmental Bond Act

• Prevailing Wage on Solar

• Cornell Climate Jobs Institute

• Helped neighbors repair their homes after Hurricane Ida

• Secured a drain to help with flooding in East Elmhurst 

 

Anti-Poverty

• Passed the Child Poverty Reduction Act (S2755C- 2021)

• Opened a food pantry in the district

• Supplied constituents with food and PPE during the pandemic

 

Housing

• Passed legislation requiring NYCHA to publish and maintain a public database with status updates on repairs (S7859A- 2021)

• Required that Empire State Development post all materials provided to community advisory committees on its website, and require that they meet publicly in an effort to increase public visibility (S8419A).

Education

• Reversion of parkland to the city of NY if said parkland is not used for the purpose of a pre-kindergarten center. (S6250A- 2019)

Families

• Extended the length of time that child care assistance is available for eligible families (S9029A- 2021).

Small Businesses

• Authorizes the State Liquor Authority to permit a business open with a Temporary License in NYC while backlog jams are resolved (S2743- 2021)

• Eliminated the two year restriction on temporary retail permits for applications subject to the 500 foot law (S8203- 2023)

 

Public Safety

• Strengthened protections for victims of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and compelling prostitution (S674- 2021).

• Required law enforcement and district attorney’s offices to advise human trafficking victims of the availability of social and legal services (S924- 2021).

• Required commissaries at correctional facilities to provide food options that satisfy the requirement of halal, kosher and other religious dietary needs (S4748A- 2023).