GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS “BROADCAST EMPLOYEES FREEDOM TO WORK ACT” AMONG PACKAGE OF BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW
Governor David A. Paterson today signed the “Broadcast Employees Freedom to Work Act,” a new law that prohibits certain restrictions on broadcast employees that had placed a hardship on professionals in the industry by limiting their flexibility to be hired after leaving a company.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Governor David A. Paterson today signed the “Broadcast Employees Freedom to Work Act,” a new law that prohibits certain restrictions on broadcast employees that had placed a hardship on professionals in the industry by limiting their flexibility to be hired after leaving a company.
The legislation ( A.2124-A John/S.2393-A Leibell ) bans contract provisions that condition employment based on certain types of “non-compete” agreements such as not allowing broadcasters to take another job in a particular region, with a competitor in the same market, or within a defined period of time. Those provisions forced some broadcasters to move outside of the region to find work and limited others from finding employment in New York – ending some careers.
“Broadcasters, like other members of the media, play an important role in our democracy by providing the public with critical news and analysis that help us shape the ongoing discourse about the future of our society,” said Governor Paterson. “The contract provisions we’re banning placed an unfair burden on these professionals by limiting their ability to move to other employers within the same market or within a certain time period. With the approval of this bill, we hope to empower broadcasters with greater independence as they pursue employment options.”
The Governor also signed a separate bill ( S.7602A Lanza/A.10530A Bing ) that strengthens criminal and civil penalties for individuals who compromise the integrity of the crane inspection and licensing process. The law makes certain violations class-D felonies and imposes fines of up to $5,000.
“Recent construction crane-related accidents in the New York City area have raised understandable concerns about the safety of building sites,” said Governor Paterson. “With stricter criminal and civil penalties, this new law will send a message that we have zero tolerance for any actions that negatively interfere with the inspection and licensing of construction cranes.”
Two other bills signed by Governor Paterson deal with the right to information and the protection of privacy, specifically A.11156/S.8188, which requires all public notices of certain improvement districts to be posted on the website of the district, and A.70-A/S.5045-B, which requires unsolicited faxes to include notice that informs the recipient of the ability to prevent the transmission of future unsolicited messages.
Additionally, Governor Paterson signed several bills with considerable regional significance, including one to establish a Long Island workforce housing program to provide affordable hosing in Nassau and Suffolk counties ( S.6823-A/A.9881-A ), and a second bill ( S.6172-A/A.9088-A ) which authorizes the City of Elmira to transfer ownership of the Mark Twain Golf Course to a not-for-profit corporation.
Governor Paterson also signed the following bills into law:
Consumer Protection
S.2970-C/A.6217-C – Creates a consumer bill of rights regarding tax preparers.
S.7297/A.8152 – Relates to debt collection procedures related to identity theft.
Criminal Justice
A.5188-A/S.8615 – Relates to falsely reporting an alleged occurrence or condition of child abuse or maltreatment.
A.7197 Lavine/S.8576 – Permits waiver of indictment for class A felonies which are not punishable by death or life imprisonment.
A.8488-A/S.5595-A – Creates the crime of luring a child.
A.8634-D/S.5543-E – Provides consumers who are victims of domestic violence with a free security freeze report upon request.
A.11636/S.8629 – Expands the definition of coercion in the second degree and makes technical changes to the definition of coercion in the first degree.
S.690-B/A.8570-B – Makes certain technical amendments to provisions of law requiring employers to check the sex offender registry prior to filling certain employment positions.
S.1531/A.1269 – Prohibits sex offenders from being entitled to a license as a real estate broker or real estate salesman.
S.7638-A/A.10288-A – Requires an employer that receives a consumer report to provide the subject of such report a copy of the laws governing the employment of persons previously convicted.
S.7712-A/A.10760-A – Relates to the timeliness of prosecutions for a certain crime.
S.3079-A/A.1831-A – Provides that the commission of criminal impersonation in the first degree shall include the impersonation of any police officer or federal law enforcement officer.
S.8521/A.11558 – Clarifies when a presumptively released drug offender shall be discharged from parole supervision.
Judiciary
S.4630C/A.8986-A – Gives biological parents the option to consent to the receipt, by the child to be adopted, of such parents' identifying information.
S.6355-A/A.9262-A – Provides for the payment of poundage to the sheriff upon execution of a judgment or settlement.
Housing / Property
A.8819-A/S.466-A – Relates to farm worker housing.
S.8328-A/A.11150-A – Relates to public access to assessment inventories prepared by a city, town or village.
S.8517/A.11544 – Requires any person or corporation which sells or offers to sell in this state any certified copy of a property deed to provide the purchaser certain notice.
Local Bills – Finance
S.7049/A.10312 – Authorizes the local county legislative body of the county of Chenango to establish a wireless surcharge.
A.9899/S.6888 – Extends the effectiveness of Chapter 405 of the Laws of 2005 for two years.
S.6919/A.9979 – Extends provisions of law relating to the mortgage recording tax in the County of Steuben until December 1, 2011.
S.7656/A.10705 – Extends provisions of law relating to the mortgage recording tax in the County of Yates.
S.8435/A.11471-A – Extends the authorization for the County of Herkimer to impose a county recording tax on obligation secured by a mortgage on real property until 2010.
S.7282-C/A.10454-C – Authorizes City of Amsterdam to sell delinquent tax liens; extends the effectiveness thereof.
S.6242-B/A.9166-B – Authorizes the town of Riga to establish the Host Benefit Agreement reserve fund.
S.7588 /A.10607 – Authorizes the town of Newcomb, in the county of Essex, to establish the Goodnow flow dam improvement district.
S.8454/A.11536 – Authorizes the village of South Blooming Grove to adopt a fiscal year starting on January 1, and to consolidate two water districts into one district.
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