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Senate passes bill banning no-rehire clauses in settlement agreements after floor debate
Summary
The Senate passed Senate Print 413, which prohibits employers from including broad no-rehire clauses in settlement agreements for workplace harassment and discrimination claims; vote was 36-22 on March 20, 2025.
The New York State Senate on March 20 passed Senate Print 413, a bill to ban "no-rehire" provisions in settlement agreements arising from workplace harassment or discrimination claims. The bill was described on the floor as an amendment to the general obligations law and, according to the sponsor memo read on the floor, will prevent settlement terms that bar victims from seeking future employment across an entire company or employer group.
Senator Helming opposed the measure, arguing the bill and its timing were "highly, highly hypocritical" and saying the measure could harm corrections officers and their families. "Our corrections officers deserve some justice," Helming said, urging colleagues to oppose what she called an overreach.
Senator Borrello also argued against the bill, saying it would prevent certain employers from enforcing no-rehire restrictions and criticized the timing in relation to a recent strike. "This is completely hypocritical and unfair," he said, and recorded his negative vote.
Senator Gennardis (floor explanation) framed the bill as aimed specifically at protecting victims of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination from coercive settlement demands that bar future employment: "This bill is about victims of workplace ... harassment being told as a condition of their settlement ... that they don't have to accept the inability of themselves to pursue another job opportunity anywhere in their company around the entire globe."
The Senate recorded a roll-call result in relation to calendar 342: yeas 36, nays 22. The transcript lists multiple senators voting in the negative. The bill passed and, per its read section, would take effect on the sixtieth day after it becomes law.
Why it matters: supporters said the bill limits employers' ability to coerce victims into forfeiting future employment options; opponents raised concerns about unintended consequences for particular employee groups and timing with other labor events.
Procedure: the bill passed on third reading and awaits enrollment and presentation to the governor for signature or veto.
