Section 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.