MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING PROTECTIONS AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT

  Today, Mayor de Blasio signed 11 bills to combat workplace sexual harassment. These bills mandate anti-sexual harassment trainings in the public and private sectors; make information about sexual harassment available so more New Yorkers know their rights; require sexual harassment data reporting from city agencies; and expand sexual harassment protections under the New York City Human Rights Law.

“Society has been stacked in favor of men for far too long, leading many to believe they can harass women without fear of punishment,” said Mayor de Blasio. “New York City will not allow that continue. We are taking action to protect workers against sexual harassment and saying loudly and clearly that anyone who harasses a co-worker will face justice.”

"When women step forward with a grievance, it is the employer’s responsibility to listen and take appropriate action,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “With this new package of bills, New York City is holding ALL employers accountable for what they do when employees come forward to report sexual harassment in the workplace."

"As revelations from the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements continue to unfold, including the recent troubling events here in New York, it’s important victims of sexual harassment know they will always be heard. All New Yorkers are entitled to a safe, respectful workplace, and the ‘Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act’ sends a strong message to public and private employers that there is no place for sexual harassment in our city. It is our responsibility as legislators to take action and protect all of our constituents by ensuring they feel safe no matter where they are ‒ at work, on the train or in the company of people they trust. I thank my colleagues, especially the Council’s Committee on Women Chair Helen Rosenthal, for their activism and I thank the Mayor for his support. I am immensely proud New York City is leading the charge to end sexual harassment,” said Speaker Corey Johnson, sponsor of Intro. 612-A.

Requiring Anti-Sexual Harassment Trainings

• Intro. 612-A requires all city agencies and the offices of the Mayor, borough presidents, Comptroller, and Public Advocate to conduct annual anti-sexual harassment trainings for all employees. 

• Intro. 632-A requires employers with 15 or more employees to conduct annual anti-sexual harassment training for all employees.

Ensuring New Yorkers Know Their Rights

• Intro. 614-A requires the New York City Commission on Human Rights to clearly post resources about sexual harassment on its website, including an explanation that sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination under local law. 

• Intro. 630-A requires all employers in the city to display an anti-sexual harassment rights and responsibility poster designed by the Commission on Human Rights.

Reporting on Harassment at City Agencies and Assessing Workplace Climate

• Intro. 613-A requires all city agencies and the offices of the Mayor, borough presidents, Comptroller, and Public Advocate to assess workplace risk factors associated with sexual harassment as identified by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. In doing so, agencies can better develop responsive strategies to combat sexual harassment.

• Intro. 664-A, requires all city agencies, as well as the offices of the Mayor, borough presidents, Comptroller and the Public Advocate, to conduct climate surveys to assess the general awareness and knowledge of the city’s equal employment opportunity policy, including but not limited to sexual harassment policies and prevention at city agencies. 

• Intro. 653-A requires all city agencies, as well as the offices of the Mayor, Borough Presidents, Comptroller and Public Advocate, to annually report on incidents of workplace sexual harassment to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

• Intro. 693 requires that contractors and subcontractors that apply for city contracts include their employment practices, policies and procedures as they relate to preventing and addressing sexual harassment in the employment report required of proposed contractors and subcontractors.

Expanding Sexual Harassment Protections Under The New York City Human Rights Law

• Intro. 657-A, amends the New York City Human Rights Law to apply provisions related to gender-based discrimination to all employers, regardless of the number of employees.

• Intro. 660-A would amend the policy statement of the New York City Human Rights Law to include sexual harassment as a form of discrimination that the New York City Commission on Human Rights shall have the power to eliminate and prevent.

• Intro. 663-A, amends the New York City Human Rights Law to increase the statute of limitations for filing harassment claims based on unwelcome conduct that intimidates, interferes with, oppresses, threatens, humiliates or degrades a person based on such person’s gender from one year to three years from the time that the alleged harassment occurred.