A 1219 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Relates to providing for vacation of an arbitration award on the ground that the arbitrator was affiliated with a party, or has a financial interest in a party or the outcome

Summary

Requires disclosure of possible conflicts of an arbitrator; provides for the vacating of an arbitration award on the ground that the arbitrator was affiliated in any way with any party, or has a financial interest directly or indirectly in any party or in the outcome of the arbitration.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Assembly Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 9, 2025 Last action May 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

A1219 → A1219A · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates New York's arbitration laws to specifically address employment and consumer disputes, ensuring these cases are heard by neutral third-party arbitrators who have no conflicts of interest. It adds strict rules requiring arbitrators to disclose any potential biases before accepting a case and allows courts to void arbitration awards if these disclosure rules are violated. The changes aim to increase fairness and transparency in arbitration for everyday citizens and workers.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of arbitration regulations to explicitly include employment and consumer disputes, which were not previously the primary focus of these specific definitions and disclosure requirements.

DEFINITION

New definitions for 'Employment' and 'Consumer' were added to clarify exactly which types of disputes fall under these new arbitration rules.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for a 'neutral third-party arbitrator' was updated to explicitly apply to employment and consumer disputes, preventing parties from choosing biased arbitrators in these cases.

New mandatory disclosure rules require arbitrators to reveal any financial interests or personal relationships that could affect their impartiality before accepting a case.

ENFORCEMENT

Courts are now empowered to vacate (cancel) arbitration awards if an arbitrator fails to disclose a conflict of interest or if a party does not object within a specific 30-day window.

EXEMPTIONS

The new strict neutrality and disclosure rules do not apply to arbitrations conducted under collective bargaining agreements between employers and labor unions.

Floor votes · Assembly Mar 19, 2025

How they voted

111–39

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 152

Mar 19, 2025

D Democratic105

97 Yea 6 Nay 2

92% Yea

R Republican47

14 Yea 33 Nay

70% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

AMENDED ON THIRD READING 1219A

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED ASSEMBLY

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

upper

Mar 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED ASSEMBLY

lower

Jan 9, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors