On December 23, 2022, Governor Hochul signed into law New York State Assembly Bill A6328A, amending the New York Executive Law § 292 (the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)), to prohibit employment discrimination against employees and job applicants based on citizenship and immigration status. This amendment, which became effective immediately upon Governor Hochul’s signature, prohibits employers from discriminating, harassing, or retaliating against any individual because of their citizenship or immigration status. The law defines “citizenship or immigration status” as “citizenship of any person or the immigration status of any person who is not a citizen of the United States.”
The law does not expressly ban employers from checking the citizenship or immigration status of current and prospective employees for lawful purposes, such as to comply with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which prevents employers from knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants, or individuals who are not authorized to be employed in the United States. Under the IRCA, if an employer knows that a certain job candidate does not have work authorization for U.S. employment, the employer cannot, by law, hire such job candidate. Thus, employers are permitted to take adverse actions against individuals where obligated to do so by law.