Hochul Signs Law Protecting Rights Of LGBTQ+ Seniors

NEW YORK — The state of New York now has a bill of rights in place for LGBTQ+ residents of long-term care facilities.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation Thursday — S1783 and A372A — that prohibits long-term care facilities and their staff from discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

She said New York’s seniors should be able to live their lives with the dignity and respect they deserve.

“LGBTQIA+ and HIV-positive seniors are among our most vulnerable populations, and today we are taking steps to ensure that all New Yorkers — regardless of who they are, who they love or their HIV status — find safety and support in places where they need it the most,” Hochul said. “Hate will never have a place in New York.”

Judy Troilo, CEO of The Loft: LGBTQ+ Center in White Plains, told Patch the legislation was “crucial to our community because it establishes protections against discrimination and ensures they receive fair and equal treatment in long-term care facilities.”

She said it also emphasizes the fundamental rights of residents to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

“This included protection from harassment or neglect based on these characteristics,” Troilo said.

“Hopefully, [the legislation] will help ensure our community members receive appropriate and culturally competent care,” she said.

The newly signed legislation combats discrimination and mitigates the isolation that many older LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and those living with HIV face in long-term care facilities, according to the governor’s office.

The legislation builds on existing protections from discrimination already established in New York’s Human Rights Law by prohibiting long-term care facilities and their staff from making discriminatory decisions based on a resident’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or HIV status, such as:

• Denying admission to a long-term facility
• Transferring or denying a transfer within a facility or to another facility
• Discharging or evicting a resident from a facility