Nearly two years after the inception of New York’s statewide sexual harassment prevention policy, lawmakers in Albany, New York continue work on the vital workplace program. The New York State Assembly recently announced the continuation of the Sexual Harassment Assembly work group, as well as naming several new additions to the group.
With the new additions to the consortium, the Sexual Harassment work group will be able to continue to review issues relating to sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace and identify ways to ensure the future safety of all New York state employees.
The workgroup now includes the following New York State Assembly Members: Helene E. Weinstein, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Aileen M. Gunther, Charles D. Lavine, Kenneth Zebrowski, Nily Rozic, Victor Pichardo, Rebecca Seawright, Jo Anne Simon, Pamela J. Hunter, Alicia Hyndman, Carmen De La Rosa, Monica P. Wallace, and Jennifer Lunsford.
The New York State Assembly work group was first brought together by Heastie back in 2018 to examine the various, nefarious subject of sexual harassment in the office and workplace, the issues associated with sexual harassment, and to deliver policy responses to the subject.
In the same year, the New York State Assembly enacted a series of measures and policies to combat sexual harassment in the office and other workplaces. This included the mandate that all employers in the state of New York must have a sexual harassment policy, a clear complaint and investigation process, and mandatory employee training on the matter.
“We have made great progress in updating our laws and working to ensure employees across the state have safe workplaces,” said New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie of the recent additions to the sexual harassment work group. “I am particularly proud that the Assembly’s own internal policies and procedures have been held up as a model as to how to appropriately address these issues. Unfortunately, we hear stories all too frequently that demonstrate workplace harassment is still prevalent in many workplaces. Employees deserve protections and are entitled to work in safe environments. I am confident that the members of this workgroup will carefully review current issues facing our workforce and present meaningful recommendations for our conference to consider.”
Back in 2019, the New York State Assembly held a number of public hearings to receive firsthand testimony from advocates, experts, and victims themselves regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. This information was then used to craft the legislative packages that increased the protections against sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, including an expansion of the Human Right’s Law to cover all employers in New York state and a number of newly established protections and services.
According to the official ny.gov Statewide Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy, “Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and is unlawful under federal, state, and (where applicable) local law. Sexual harassment includes harassment on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and the status of being transgender.”
The policy, which was officially put into effect in New York state on October 9, 2019, defines sexual harassment in the following ways: “Sexual harassment includes unwelcome conduct which is either of a sexual nature, or which is directed at an individual because of that individual’s sex when: Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, even if the complaining individual is not the intended target of the sexual harassment; Such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of employment; or Submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting an individual’s employment."