Sexual Harassment Prevention Hotline and Other Employee Protections Take Hold in New York State
On March 30, 2022 by Schnader in Labor and EmploymentLisa M. Brauner published a client alert, “Sexual Harassment Prevention Hotline and Other Employee Protections Take Hold in New York State.”
On March 1, 2022, the New York State Senate passed sweeping legislation to strengthen employee protections against workplace sexual harassment in the form of seven new bills, and on March 16, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law three of those bills, discussed below. This package of legislation comes on the heels of a report from the New York State Attorney General’s office concluding that New York’s former governor Andrew Cuomo engaged in sexual harassment of several female employees, which ultimately led to his resignation.
The bills that were signed into law on March 16 will: (1) create a workplace sexual harassment hotline; (2) expand the coverage of the New York State Human Rights Law to include certain public sector employers; and (3) provide expanded protection to employees from unlawful retaliation.