N.Y. Workers' Compensation Law § 125: Job discrimination prohibited based on prior receipt of benefits

§ 125. Job discrimination prohibited based on prior receipt of

benefits. 1. It shall be unlawful for any employer to inquire into, or

to consider for the purpose of assessing fitness or capability for

employment, whether a job applicant has filed for or received benefits

under this chapter, or to discriminate against a job applicant with

regard to employment on the basis of that claimant having filed for or

received benefits under this chapter, or because the claimant is an

injured veteran. An individual aggrieved under this subdivision may

initiate proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction seeking

damages, including reasonable attorney fees, for violation of this

subdivision.

2. An employer who violates the provisions of subdivision one of this

section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be

punished, except as in this chapter or in the penal law otherwise

provided, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, and subject

to the debarment provisions of section one hundred forty-one-b of this

chapter.