NY A06539

Adds "veteran status" as a protected characteristic in New York's Executive Law, defining veterans as those who served in active military during wartime, received service-connected disability ratings, or earned specified military expeditionary medals, and were not dishonorably discharged.

Expands employment protections to prohibit discrimination in hiring, compensation, terms, and conditions of employment based on veteran status by employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations.

Extends housing discrimination protections to prevent denial of rental, sale, or lease of housing accommodations and land based on veteran status, and prohibits discriminatory statements or inquiries in housing advertisements and applications.

Prohibits discrimination based on veteran status in access to training programs, public accommodations, educational institutions, real estate transactions, credit lending, and volunteer fire department membership.

Authorizes the Division of Human Rights to create advisory councils and develop policies to address discrimination based on veteran status across all covered areas.