The New York City Council continues to grow the chasm that exists between New York City employment law and its state and federal counterparts. Specifically, on March 13, 2013, the council overwhelmingly enacted (by a 43-4 vote) a local law that precludes employers and employment agencies from refusing to consider or hire an applicant because he or she is unemployed, and from posting advertisements that require job applicants to be employed. This comes less than a month after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg initially vetoed the legislation, which now is set to become effective on June 11, 2013.

What’s The Law? -

The new law amends the New York City Administrative Code (New York City Human Rights Law), which applies to employers with four or more employees. Adding a new protected class to the list of prohibited discrimination bases, Section 8-107[21] now provides that, unless otherwise expressly permitted elsewhere...