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New York Labor Law § 740

§ 740 · US-NY · enacted

New York's general whistleblower law protects employees and contractors who report law breaches or substantial and specific dangers to public health or safety. Not AI-specific; the RAISE Act, New York's frontier-AI law, dropped its employee protections before passage.

Who is protected

Employees, former employees, and individual independent contractors working for the employer's business (§ 740(1)(a)).

What disclosures are covered

An activity, policy or practice the employee reasonably believes breaks a law, rule or regulation, or poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety (§ 740(2)(a)).

Where to report

• Supervisor
• A public body, including Congress, courts, regulators and law enforcement
  Only after first telling a supervisor and giving the employer a chance to fix it, unless an exception applies (§ 740(3))

Limits

• The RAISE Act's employee protections (draft A6453-A § 1422) were dropped from the version signed as Chapter 699 of 2025 and from its replacement, Chapter 96 of 2026 (nysenate.gov bill texts)
• Reports to a public body must usually go to a supervisor first (§ 740(3))

Sources

• New York Labor Law § 740
• RAISE Act, A6453-A (earlier version with employee protections)
• RAISE Act chapter amendment, S8828 (Chapter 96 of 2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-30