Relates to employment of persons and veterans with disabilities by the state; provides up to five thousand positions may be filled by persons with a physical or mental disability and up to two thousand positions may be filled by disabled veterans and veterans with disabilities.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8157
SPONSOR: Epstein
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to employment of
persons and veterans with disabilities by the state
 
PURPOSE:
To increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities and
veterans with disabilities
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Department of Civil Service is empowered to set aside positions that
can be performed by people and veterans with disabilities under civil
service law sections 55-b and 55-c. Existing law provides that the
Department may set aside up to 1,200 positions for people with disabili-
ties and 500 positions for veterans with disabilities.
The last time the Legislature raised the caps on the number of positions
the Department could set aside through the 55-b program was over 30
years ago (L 1990 Ch 354). Since then, unemployment and underemployment
of New Yorkers with disabilities has persisted. Recent reports from the
NYS Comptroller's office found that from April 2020 to March 2021 unem-
ployment skyrocketed to 16.2% for New Yorkers with disabilities,
compared to 11.3% unemployment in the general population. As the state's
economy rebounds after the COVID-19 pandemic, we should lead by example
and create more opportunities for these New Yorkers to work, if they
wish to do so.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
L 1990 Ch 354
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
none
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8157
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
July 7, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to employment of
persons and veterans with disabilities by the state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 55-b of the civil service law, as
2 amended by chapter 603 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. The commission may determine up to [twelve hundred] five thousand
5 positions with duties such as can be performed by persons with a phys-
6 ical or mental disability who are found otherwise qualified to perform
7 satisfactorily the duties of any such position. Upon such determination
8 the said positions shall be classified in the noncompetitive class, and
9 may be filled only by persons who shall have been certified by the
10 employee health service of the department as being a person with either
11 a physical or mental disability. The number of persons appointed pursu-
12 ant to this section shall not exceed [twelve hundred] five thousand.
13 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 55-c of the civil service law, as
14 amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as
15 follows:
16 1. The commission may determine up to [five hundred] two thousand
17 positions with duties such as can be performed by disabled veterans and
18 veterans with disabilities who are found otherwise qualified to perform
19 satisfactorily the duties of any such position. Upon such determination,
20 the said positions shall be classified in the noncompetitive class, and
21 may be filled only by veterans of the armed forces of the United States
22 who served therein during time of war, as defined in paragraph (c) of
23 subdivision one of section eighty-five of this chapter, and (a) who
24 establish by appropriate documentary evidence that they are disabled
25 veterans, as defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11540-01-1
A. 8157 2
1 eighty-five of this chapter, or (b) by those veterans, as defined in
2 paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section eighty-five of this chapter,
3 who shall have been certified by the employee health service of the
4 department as being disabled but capable of performing the duties of
5 said positions. Priority in certification and referral of both such
6 disabled veterans and certified disabled but capable veterans shall be
7 given to those veterans who received a wound in combat, as documented by
8 the awarding of the purple heart, as authorized by the United States
9 department of defense, and that wound is the cause of, or a substantial-
10 ly contributing factor to, the degree of impairment, who otherwise meet
11 the requirements of this section. The number of veterans appointed
12 pursuant to this section shall not exceed [five hundred] two thousand.
13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.