Section 20-730
§ 20-730 Definitions. a. "Alternative container" means a non-metal
receptacle or enclosure customarily not ornamented and designed for
holding or transporting human remains.
b. "Cash advances" or "accommodations" means amounts advanced on the
customer's behalf for various services and merchandise, including, but
not limited to: cemetery or crematory charges, clergy honorarium,
flowers, newspaper death notices, pall bearers, music, transportation
charges, out-of-town funeral director's charges, hairdressers, bridge
and road tolls, telephone and telegraph charges, gratuities.
c. "Casket" includes a coffin and means a rigid container designed for
the encasement of human remains and customarily ornamented and lined
with fabric.
d. "Customer" means any person, association or other entity who
purchases or otherwise makes arrangements for the purchase of funeral
services or merchandise, without intention of resale.
e. "Defacement" means any deliberate effort to make merchandise appear
unattractive to customers including, but not limited to, displaying
broken, soiled or defective merchandise.
f. "Funeral merchandise" means articles and supplies sold or offered
for sale directly to the public, or used by funeral directors, incident
to: (1) the care and preparation of deceased human bodies for burial,
cremation or other final disposition; (2) the arrangement, supervision
or conducting of the funeral ceremony.
g. "Funeral services" means services performed incident to: (1) the
care and preparation of deceased human bodies for burial, cremation, or
other final disposition; (2) the arrangement, supervision or conducting
of the funeral ceremony and the final disposition of the deceased
including, but not limited to, transporting the remains, securing
necessary permits, embalming, arranging for death notices, and other
funeral-related items.
h. "Funeral service establishment" means the premises used or held out
as being used to care for and prepare for burial of the body of a
deceased person or maintained as the office from which business is
transacted by a funeral director or undertaker.
i. "Immediate cremation" means a disposition of human remains which
includes the reduction of the remains by a heating process and which
does not involve formal viewing or a prior funeral ceremony with the
body present.
j. "Memorial society" means an unincorporated association or
not-for-profit corporation which assists members in obtaining and making
arrangements for funerals, cremations or other methods of disposition.
k. "Offered for sale" means making available for purchase or
suggesting availability of merchandise or services for purchase by use
of any advertising or promotional materials, including brochures,
handbills, or calendars, or by the displaying of merchandise, or verbal
or written expressions, direct or indirect, of a willingness to furnish
services or merchandise to the public for a retail price.
l. "Outer interment receptacle" means any container or enclosure which
is placed in the grave around the casket to protect the casket or to
prevent the collapse of the grave including, but not limited to,
receptacles commonly known as burial vaults, grave boxes, or grave
liners.
m. "Provider of funeral services" means any person, partnership or
corporation, or any employee or agent thereof, engaged in the business
of selling or offering for sale, directly to the public, funeral
services or funeral merchandise; of preparing deceased human bodies for
burial, cremation or other final disposition; or of conducting or
arranging funerals.
Section 20-731
§ 20-731 Casket and outer interment receptacle information. a. Any
provider of funeral services who offers a casket for sale, or an outer
interment receptacle for sale in a selection room, shall prominently
display the actual retail price on each casket or outer interment
receptacle, in at least one-half inch numbers, as well as composition
and model number of such casket or outer interment receptacle.
b. Any provider of funeral services who offers a casket or an outer
interment receptacle for sale by means other than a selection room shall
present to a customer for his or her selection a photograph or other
pictorial representation of each model of casket or other interment
receptacle so offered, with the price, composition and model number
prominently displayed.
Section 20-732
§ 20-732 Statement to be furnished by provider of funeral services.
Any provider of funeral services shall prominently display on the
funeral services establishment premises and make readily available to
any customer or prospective customer a printed presentation sheet. The
presentation sheet shall contain an itemized list of all funeral
merchandise and services available at the establishment, a statement
that the prices therefor are available upon request, and appropriate
disclosures regarding legal requirements for procurement of funeral
merchandise and services, the form and contents of which shall be
prescribed by the commissioner. The presentation sheet shall be made
current annually.
Section 20-733
§ 20-733 Prohibited practices. It shall be unlawful for any provider
of funeral services:
a. to embalm without orally informing the customer that embalming is
not required by law or to furnish other services or merchandise
including embalming, without having first obtained from the customer
explicit written or oral authorization;
b. to obtain custody of a deceased human body without having first
received from the customer explicit written or oral authorization;
c. to fail to promptly release a body or give information regarding
the care or whereabouts of a body upon request of a customer;
d. to misrepresent cremation needs including requiring a customer who
expresses an interest in immediate cremation of deceased human remains
to purchase a casket, or claiming expressly or impliedly that a casket
is required by law, or failing to make available to such customer an
alternative container;
e. to misrepresent the law, public health necessity or religious
requirements including the legal and health necessities for embalming, a
casket, or an outer interment receptacle;
f. to make false preservative value claims, including claiming that
decomposition or decay of a deceased human body can be prevented by the
use or purchase of embalming, a casket, a burial vault or other outer
interment receptacle;
g. to charge in excess of the amount advanced, paid or owed to third
parties on behalf of customers, or not passing along to the customer any
discount, rebate or other benefit received from third parties for any
items of service or merchandise described as "cash advances", "cash
disbursements", "accommodations", or words of similar import.
Section 20-734
§ 20-734 Merchandise and service selection. It shall be unlawful for
any provider of funeral services:
a. to fail to display the three least expensive caskets offered for
sale in the same general manner as other caskets are displayed, provided
that if fewer than twelve caskets are displayed, only the least
expensive casket must be so displayed; or
b. to interfere with the customer's selection of merchandise or
services offered for sale including: (1) representing in any manner that
any funeral merchandise or service is offered for sale when such is not
a bona fide offer to sell said product or services, (2) falsely
discouraging any purchase by disparagement, by suggestion that any
merchandise or service is not readily available or by defacement, (3)
disparaging concern for price by suggestion that a customer's concern
for price or desire to save money on merchandise or services is
improper, inappropriate or indicative of a lack of respect or affection
for the deceased, (4) contradicting, mitigating or detracting from the
printed disclosures required by section 20-732 of this subchapter, or
(5) making any claim that is false, misleading or unsubstantiated in a
material respect regarding any merchandise or services.
Section 20-735
§ 20-735 Interference with the market. It shall be unlawful for any
provider of funeral services to directly or indirectly prohibit, hinder
or restrict, or attempt to prohibit, hinder or restrict:
a. the offering or advertising of the availability of low-cost
funerals, immediate cremation or other forms of disposition, or
arrangement for funeral services in advance of need by any provider of
funeral services, memorial society, or other person, partnership,
association or corporation;
b. any contract or arrangement between a memorial society and any
provider of funeral services;
c. the disclosure of accurate price information in any manner
regarding funeral merchandise or services by any provider of funeral
services.
Section 20-736
§ 20-736 Price information over telephone. Any provider of funeral
services shall, upon request, provide over the telephone, information
regarding the range of prices and shall affirmatively disclose the
availability of a presentation sheet at the establishment.
Section 20-737
§ 20-737 Regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and
regulations reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
subchapter.
Section 20-738
§ 20-738 Penalties. Violation of any provision of this subchapter
shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not less than one hundred nor
more than one thousand dollars for each violation.
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
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