§ 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.