Governor Hochul Signs Executive Order Requiring the Adoption of Gender-Based Violence Workplace Policies

 

Executive Order Follows Newly Issued Inspector General Report on Domestic Violence Incident Involving Two State Employees

Expands on Current Requirements for Domestic Violence Policies to a Gender-based Violence Policy Covering Violence, Stalking and Sexual Assault  

Will Require Annual Training for Supervisors, Domestic Violence Agency Liaisons, and HR Staff  

Will Require Every Agency to Have a Domestic Violence Agency Liaison

 Governor Kathy Hochul today signed an Executive Order directing all New York State agencies and authorities to have a workplace policy on gender-based violence. The Executive Order expands on a previous order, which required domestic violence policies, and strengthens these policies while expanding New York State’s protections to include stalking and sexual assault. The Executive Order—issued today following a newly released Inspector General report detailing a deadly incident of domestic violence involving employees from two state agencies—will require agencies to formulate and issue a Gender-based Violence and the Workplace policy that will include mandatory annual training for supervisors, Domestic Violence Agency Liaisons, and Human Resources staff. The policy also has an explicit requirement for agencies to designate a Domestic Violence Agency Liaison, whose role is providing agency staff with resources and information.

The Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence will also be required to formulate sample written procedures for the implementation of the revised Model Gender-based Violence and the Workplace Policy.  

“My administration has received the Inspector General’s report, and my heart is with the family that is still living with this tragedy,” Governor Hochul said. “Domestic violence is a serious issue that is very personal to me, as my mother opened a home for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. As Governor, I will work to make New York State a safer place for all by requiring state agencies to adopt policies that protect employees and create a safe workplace environment for survivors. By setting these requirements, we are supporting the needs of individuals and families throughout the state in a survivor-centered, trauma informed and culturally responsive way. Additionally, I will closely review the Inspector General’s recommendations alongside the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, and we will continue to fight for the safety of victims and survivors, and for all New Yorkers.”

The new policy will also focus on assisting employees experiencing gender-based violence by providing resources and explaining protections and benefits in the law about time off from work to handle court appearances or medical issues, as well as workplace accommodations that are available to protect employees, including from adverse employment actions. 

Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Executive Director Kelli Owens said, “Domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence don’t stop when someone gets to work. Victims and survivors may be stalked or harassed at the office or come to work with signs of physical abuse from the night before. We should use every opportunity to educate people to recognize what gender-based violence looks like, learn how to help survivors, and make it easier for survivors to get resources. I’m proud to serve a Governor who takes the issues of domestic and gender-based violence so seriously. Thank you, Governor Hochul, for working so hard to increase safety for all New Yorkers and ensuring protections and resources for your workforce.”

Attorney General James Sues U.S. Postal Service For Failing to Consider Environmental Impact of New Trucks

 

USPS Used Faulty Environmental Analysis to Justify Purchase of New Gas-Powered Vehicle Fleet

 New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a multistate coalition in suing the United States Postal Service (USPS) for failing to consider the environmental impact of its new fleet of mail trucks. The USPS purchased a new fleet of vehicles without first holding the mandatory environmental review, a violation of National Environmental Policy Act's (NEPA) most basic requirements. The review failed to consider and evaluate fleets that included electric vehicles, instead opting to replace up to 165,000 of its delivery vehicles with 90 percent gas-powered vehicles. The coalition’s suit seeks a court order to block USPS from moving ahead with the purchase until it fully complies with NEPA.

“Louis DeJoy’s choice to ignore the law and buy an almost entirely gas-fueled fleet of 165,000 vehicles is fiscally and environmentally irresponsible,” said Attorney General James. “This decision will have lasting and devastating consequences for our environment, and the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers. I stand with my colleagues across the country in opposing USPS’s fatally flawed decision-making, and we will fight to ensure our laws are followed and our communities are protected.”

The USPS has one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world, consisting of more than 212,000 vehicles. While these vehicles play a critical role in delivering the nation’s mail, they also emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases and other hazardous air pollutants. Neighborhoods that host USPS facilities are often located in low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal and indigenous communities — those already overburdened by pollution. A recent analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists showed that emissions from cars, trucks, and buses are a leading source of harmful air pollution in New York, with Black, Latino, and Asian New Yorkers exposed at higher rates than their white counterparts.

Due to the transformational nature of updating its fleet and its significant environmental and public health implications, USPS was obligated to assess the impacts of its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions program under NEPA. Instead, USPS chose a manufacturer, signed a contract, and made a substantial down payment for new, almost entirely gas-powered vehicles before publishing a mandatory environmental review. Through this environmental review, USPS failed to consider and evaluate vehicle fleets with more electric vehicle options.

In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that USPS's Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) violated NEPA and should be set aside because:

• USPS violated well-established legal precedent by signing contracts with a defense contractor to procure the vehicles before releasing its draft environmental review;
• USPS failed to consider reasonable alternatives to its proposed action and arbitrarily rejected any consideration of vehicle fleets with a greater percentage of electric vehicles;
• USPS’s environmental review failed to properly consider air quality, environmental justice, and climate impacts of purchasing a primarily gas powered fleet;
• The Final EIS failed to ensure the scientific integrity of its analysis by relying on unfounded assumptions and failing to provide the source of the data it considered; and
• The Final EIS is inconsistent with state policies to reduce fossil fuel consumption and to encourage the development and use of clean vehicles.

Joining Attorney General James and Attorney General Bonta in filing the lawsuit are the attorney generals of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the City of New York and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Robert Lenard Booth Convicted Of Defrauding Investors Of Nearly $2 Million

 

Jury Convicts Robert Lenard Booth for Conspiracies to Commit Securities Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Money Laundering

 Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ROBERT LENARD BOOTH, a/k/a “Trevor Nicholas,” was found guilty on all counts of a three-count Indictment that charged him with defrauding victim investors in countries around the world and laundering the proceeds of the fraud. The verdict followed a six-day jury trial in Manhattan Federal Court before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Robert Lenard Booth stole his victims’ lifesavings and moved the money around the world to hide his elaborate fraud. He thought he could get away with it. Today the jury showed him he was wrong.”

According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial:

From at least June 2019 through August 2021, BOOTH ran, and conspired with others to run, a boiler room operation that impersonated Manhattan-based brokerage firms and sold investors nearly $2 million in securities that they never received. To deceive investors, BOOTH and his co-conspirators created fake identities and false and misleading webpages, email addresses, and phone numbers. On phone calls with investors, BOOTH and others pretended to be licensed brokers, lied, and used high-pressure tactics to pitch stocks for American companies. They followed up by sending the victims false paperwork to confirm the alleged stock purchases and trades.

The victims were directed to wire payments—sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars—to shell company accounts in New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The funds were laundered and distributed to BOOTH and his co-conspirators.

BOOTH was convicted of conspiracies to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. He faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense.

Formerly a resident of Brooklyn, New York, BOOTH, 68, relocated overseas and spent years operating his scheme from Thailand and Panama. In August 2021, BOOTH flew from Thailand into JFK International Airport and was arrested on arrival. Pending trial, BOOTH resided in Brooklyn, where he lived until his conviction today. Judge Rakoff revoked his bail and remanded him following the conviction.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and their partnership with the J5. The J5 works together to gather information, share intelligence and conduct coordinated operations against transnational financial crimes. The J5 includes the Australian Taxation Office, the Canadian Revenue Agency, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs from the U.K. and IRS-CI from the U.S.

INVESTIGATION BY INSPECTOR GENERAL LUCY LANG REVEALS STATE AGENCIES FAILED TO FOLLOW DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MANDATES

 

AGENCIES DID NOT FOLLOW THEIR ‘DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE WORKPLACE POLICY' IN A MANNER THAT WAS RESPONSIVE OR APPROPRIATE

IG ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE AUDIT WILL BE CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO ENHANCE STATE AGENCIES’ COMPLIANCE WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MANDATES

AGENCIES WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO FULLY COOPERATE WITH IG AUDITORS AND INVESTIGATORS WITH RESPECT TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE POLICY

 In a public announcement this morning at the NYS Crime Victims Memorial, New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang released results of an investigation by the OIG. The investigation revealed failures by senior leadership at state agencies to comply with their own domestic violence policies due to a lack of agency awareness of and sensitivity to domestic violence.

On August 22, 2019, a then OGS employee filed a complaint with OGS alleging that his wife, then an ITS employee, was misusing her State-issued cellular telephone.  At the time, the OGS employee was the subject of his own internal disciplinary action, and his termination was being sought by the agency.  On September 12, 2019, when ITS looked into the complaint, the ITS employee disclosed that she was the victim of domestic violence by her husband and was using her State-issued cellular telephone to document his abuse. Despite this information, and the agencies’ awareness that the wife had reported that she was a victim of domestic violence, senior employees in the Labor Relations and Legal Departments failed to respond appropriately. Almost a year later, the husband, who was by then no longer employed by OGS, killed his wife in their home before taking his own life.

The Inspector General’s investigation found that ITS’ failure to comply with its Domestic Violence Policy was due to a lack of agency knowledge of the policy, as well as a gap in staff’s understanding of unique traumas associated with domestic violence. OGS and ITS senior employees had little, if any, knowledge about their policy, resources available to assist victims, or even the identity of their OPDV Liaison.

“As seen here, even the best policies are only as good as the quality of their implementation.  By identifying where these agencies fell short, and making recommendations to increase awareness of domestic violence issues in the workplace, I hope that in the future victims will get urgently needed trauma-informed support from their workplaces,” said Inspector General Lucy Lang.

The report includes a series of comprehensive recommendations including:

• Requiring staff to read and verify that they understand their agencies’ Domestic Violence policy.
• Submitting certifications attesting to their awareness of the identity of OPDV liaisons.
• Thorough training on domestic violence policy should be required for every new hire during the onboarding process and should be ongoing for all employees.
• Partnering with OER and OPDV to provide trauma-informed training and support to OPDV liaisons regarding their roles and responsibilities.
• Educating staff about the impacts of trauma and encouraging staff to take a trauma-informed approach to supporting anyone who identifies as a survivor of domestic violence.
• Review the ITS Domestic Violence policy to ensure that the resources and training remain current and available to staff.

Inspector General Lang also announced that she is launching a comprehensive audit of all State executive branch agencies to assess compliance with State Domestic Violence and the Workplace mandates. The Inspector General’s Office will provide these findings to the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence who will work with these agencies to ensure compliance and provide training and resources.

The Inspector General thanked the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and NYSCADV for their partnership, and the NYS Office of Information Technology Services and the NYS Office of General Services for their cooperation in the investigation, and for the steps they have since taken to address the deficiencies identified and improve their internal practices.

 “I am here to say to this family still in mourning: New York State grieves alongside you and commits to making the change necessary to offer support to others who are suffering,” said Inspector General Lang. “And to all victims of domestic violence, I say that you do not have to suffer in silence. To New Yorkers suffering from abuse in the home, you do not have to struggle alone. And to all state employees, citizens, or others who identify fraud, corruption, or abuse in state government, the Offices of the Inspector General are here to serve you, our fellow New Yorkers.”

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - APRIL 28, 2022

 

17 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

"We must continue to use the tools we have available to us to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Be sure to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as you are eligible - it is the best suit of armor to prevent serious illness. If you don't feel well be sure to get tested, and talk to your doctor about available treatments if you test positive."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 48.81
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 34.51
• Test Results Reported - 142,684
• Total Positive - 9,538
• Percent Positive - 6.33%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.87%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,781 (+7)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 356
• Patients in ICU - 190 (-3)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 69 (+6)
• Total Discharges - 295,920 (+332)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 17
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 55,445

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 70,755

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 38,283,279
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 27,932
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 190,814
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 92.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 83.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 95.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 86.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 83.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 73.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 81.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 74.1%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 90.1%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.8%

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:

Borough	Monday, April 25, 2022	Tuesday, April 26, 2022	Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Bronx	3.28%	2.68%	2.72%
Kings	4.59%	4.30%	3.83%
New York	5.22%	4.70%	4.47%
Queens	5.62%	5.27%	5.03%
Richmond	6.23%	5.64%	5.57%

CITY OF NEW YORK SUES POSTAL SERVICE FOR FAULTY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW USED TO JUSTIFY PURCHASE OF NEW GAS-POWERED VEHICLE FLEET

 

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix today announced that the city of New York, as part of a multistate coalition, has filed a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS) challenging its flawed environmental analysis for its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisition program. The USPS has the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world — consisting of over 212,000 vehicles — many of which are near the end of their useful lives. Today’s lawsuit alleges that the USPS’s plans to replace 90 percent of this fleet with fossil-fuel-powered, internal combustion engine vehicles fails to comply with even the National Environmental Policy Act's most basic requirements and should be vacated.

 

“New York City is proud to be a global leader on sustainability, but the USPS’s plan to put more fossil fuel-powered vehicles on the roads undermines our goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mayor Adams. “The city is proud to file this multistate lawsuit and proud to stand firmly on the side of environmental justice for all communities.”

 

“By failing to take the legally-required hard look at the environmental impacts of keeping its gas-powered fleet, the Postal Service arbitrarily rejected an option to convert to zero-emission electric vehicles,” said Corporation Counsel Hinds-Radix. “Our lawsuit seeks to reverse the Postal Service’s ill-conceived and unlawful decision which harms communities already overburdened by pollution and detracts from the city’s overall efforts to battle climate change and improve public health.”

 

“To protect the health of our city, we must protect the health of our planet,” said Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Government vehicles can promote clean air but we need agencies to step up and set a good example of what leadership on climate change looks like. We applaud the Attorney General for working toward a healthier New York.”

 

“Justifying the purchase of gas guzzling, pollution-belching vehicles that contribute to climate change and harm public health by using a flawed analysis, the Postal Service has chosen to be part of the problem rather than working towards a solution and I applaud Mayor Adams and Corporation Counsel Hinds-Radix for joining the fight to reverse this unlawful decision,” said Chief Climate Officer Rohit T. Aggarwala.“We are in the midst of a climate crisis and all levels of government must be working together to reduce our carbon footprint, and here in New York City we are working to reduce the size of our municipal fleet and convert the remaining vehicles to electric power.”

 

USPS vehicles are on the road six days a week in every community in the United States. While these vehicles play a critical role in delivering the nation’s mail, they also emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases and other hazardous air pollutants. Many USPS facilities are located within environmental justice communities that are already overburdened by pollution.

 

In New York City, a 2016 study estimated that fine particulate (PM 2.5) emissions from vehicle traffic alone caused 320 premature deaths in the city each year (5,850 life years lost), as well as 870 asthma-related emergency room visits and cardiovascular or respiratory hospitalizations. The health impacts were especially severe in neighborhoods where poverty is very high, such as East New York, Brooklyn, where a major USPS distribution facility is located. Those neighborhoods are burdened with 70 percent more PM 2.5 emissions from trucks and buses, and over eight times as many asthma-related emergency room visits attributable to those emissions, compared to low poverty neighborhoods.

 

New York City has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, and has issued numerous plans describing its path to achieving this goal — all of which call for increased electrification of the transportation sector.

 

As most of the USPS's vehicles near the end of their useful lives, the USPS has the opportunity to convert its fleet to zero-emission, electric vehicles, a change that would reduce pollution in these overburdened communities and help tackle the climate crisis. 

 

Given the transformational nature of this change and its significant environmental and public health implications, the USPS was obligated to take a “hard look” at the impacts of its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions program under the National Environmental Policy Act. Instead, the USPS chose a manufacturer, signed a contract, and put down a substantial down payment for new vehicles, before even publishing a cursory environmental review. This environmental review, which was later finalized, failed to consider and evaluate vehicle fleets with a larger mix of electric vehicles, instead opting to replace up to 165,000 of its delivery vehicles with 90 percent fossil-fuel powered vehicles over the next 10 years. 

 

In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that the USPS’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) violated the National Environmental Policy Act and should be set aside because: 

• The USPS violated well-established legal precedent by signing contracts with a defense contractor to procure the vehicles before releasing its draft environmental review;
• The USPS failed to consider reasonable alternatives to its proposed action and arbitrarily rejected any consideration of vehicle fleets with a greater percentage of electric vehicles;
• The USPS’s environmental review failed to properly consider air quality, environmental justice, and climate impacts of purchasing a primarily gas powered fleet;
• The Final EIS failed to ensure the scientific integrity of its analysis by relying on unfounded assumptions and failing to provide the source of the data it considered; and
• The Final EIS is inconsistent with state policies to reduce fossil fuel consumption and to encourage the development and use of clean vehicles. 

 

Joining New York City in filing today’s lawsuit are the attorneys general of New York, California,  Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.