N.Y. General Business Law § 391-u: Pricing goods and services on the basis of gender prohibited

* § 391-u. Pricing goods and services on the basis of gender

prohibited. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the

following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Business" shall mean any business acting within the state of New

York that sells goods to any individual or entity including, but not

limited to, retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, or distributors;

(b) "Goods" shall mean any consumer product used, bought or rendered

primarily for personal, family or household purposes;

(c) "Services" shall mean any consumer services used, bought or

rendered primarily for personal, family or household purposes;

(d) "Substantially similar" shall mean:

(i) two goods that exhibit no substantial differences in: (A) the

materials used in production; (B) the intended use of the good; (C) the

functional design and features of the good; and (D) the brand of the

good; or

(ii) two services that exhibit no substantial difference in: (A) the

amount of time to provide the services; (B) the difficulty in providing

the services; and (C) the cost of providing the services. A difference

in coloring among any good shall not be construed as a substantial

difference for the purposes of this paragraph.

2. No person, firm, partnership, company, corporation, or business

shall charge a price for any two goods that are substantially similar,

if such goods are priced differently based on the gender of the

individuals for whom the goods are marketed and intended.

3. No person, firm, partnership, company, corporation or business

shall charge a price for any services that are substantially similar if

such services are priced differently based upon the gender of the

individuals for whom the services are performed, offered, or marketed.

4. Nothing in this section prohibits price differences in goods or

services based specifically upon the following:

(a) the amount of time it took to manufacture such goods or provide

such services;

(b) the difficulty in manufacturing such goods or offering such

services;

(c) the cost incurred in manufacturing such goods or offering such

services;

(d) the labor used in manufacturing such goods or providing such

services;

(e) the materials used in manufacturing such goods or providing such

services; or

(f) any other gender-neutral reason for having increased the cost of

such goods or services.

5. Any person, firm, partnership, company, corporation, or business

that provides services, as defined by this section, shall provide the

customer with a complete written price list upon request.

6. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application

may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the

state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to issue an

injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days,

to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations. If it shall

appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant

has, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such

court or justice, enjoining or restraining any violation, without

requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged

thereby. In any such proceeding the court may make allowances to the

attorney general as provided in section eighty-three hundred three of

the civil practice law and rules, and may make direct restitution. In

connection with any such proposed application, the attorney general is

authorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant facts

and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and

rules. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this

section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty not to exceed

two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation, and a civil penalty not

to exceed five hundred dollars for each subsequent violation. For the

purposes of this section, all identical items priced on the basis of

gender shall be considered a single violation.

* NB There are 2 § 391-u's