NYS Legislative Working Group Proposes New Sexual Harassment Agenda

Taking a break from our COVID-19 blogging, the Sexual Harassment Working Group in Albany proposed a number of potential avenues to pursue during the 2020 legislative session and beyond. The non-partisan Sexual Harassment Working Group is made up of seven former legislative employees in Albany who were witness to, reported or themselves experienced sexual harassment by New York state legislators or their staff members. The Working Group has provided pressure on Albany to pass more robust sexual harassment legislation since 2018 and their proposals for the 2020 agenda comprise a large #HarassmentFreeNY package which they argue can be a "bedrock" for worker protections in the state.

The Working Group's agenda falls into three broad categories, which focus of addressing nondisclosure laws, which we wrote about last month, expanding the protections for legislative employees, and developing trauma-centered statutes of limitations policies. Among the specifics, the Working Group and their legislative allies are seeking to address loopholes and other problematic features of the sexual harassment on the books in Albany. Of note is the group's call to clarify that legislators and political appointees are state workers and should be subject to the same laws that govern other state employees:

Repairing Nondisclosure Laws to Protect Victims

• A849B / S5469 -A: Prohibits sexual harassment or discrimination settlements from including liquidated damages clauses for a complainant’s violation of a non-disclosure agreement.
• A3643A/S2049 : Mandates the disclosure of discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault settlements to the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's office.
• Waiting on bill number: Prohibit employers from using a “do not darken my door” clause in settlement agreements, banning employers from prohibiting employees from re-applying or working in the future.

Protecting Employees of Elected and Appointed Officials

• A8847/S6828 : Clarifies that employees of elected and appointed officials are employees of the state under NYSHRL.
• Waiting on bill number: Close a loophole to protect employees of elected officials whistleblower from retaliation
• A7217/S4512 : Prohibits individuals convicted of sex crimes or those with negative determination or findings of harassment or discrimination from lobbying.
• A1282/S594A : Replace JCOPE and the LEC with a new Integrity Commission to investigate and enforce consequences of public corruption, including sexual harassment.
• Create a joint Assembly and Senate policy to reimburse travel and lodging for a minimum of one employee to travel to Albany or other parts of the state for official legislative functions. Policies should be transparent, and equally applicable minimums to all members. Consideration should be provided for additional allowances for committee chairs, and increased workloads during budget and end of session negotiations.

Establishing Trauma-informed Statutes of Limitation

• A304/S6322 : Relates to the statute of limitations for actions based on harassment; six years.

Although Berke-Weiss has not taken positions on the any of the proposed legislation at this time, we feel it important to highlight the Working Group's efforts to achieve a #HarassmentFreeAlbany and a #HarassmentFreeNY.