On May 9, 2018, Mayor DeBlasio signed into law the “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act” expanding current NYC laws against sexual harassment. In regards to the new legislation, the Mayor stated, “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."
The new legislation combines eleven different bills, which include the new requirements summarized by the Mayor’s office below for private employers in NYC and City agencies:
Intro. 612-A – Local Law 92
Amends the New York City charter to require 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 – Local Law 96
Amends the administrative code of the city of New York, to require annual anti-sexual harassment training for all employees, including interns, of private employers with 15 or more employees.
Intro. 614-A - Local Law 94
Amends the administrative code of the city of New York, to require the New York City Commission on Human Rights to post resources about sexual harassment on its website.
Intro. 630-A – Local Law 95
Amends the administrative code of the city of New York, to require all employers in New York City to display an anti-sexual harassment rights and responsibility poster.
Intro. 613-A – Local Law 93
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.
Intro. 664-A – Local Law 101
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 – Local Law 97
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 – Local Law 102
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.
Intro. 657-A – Local Law 98
Amends the New York City Human Rights Law to expand provisions related to gender-based discrimination to all employers, regardless of the number of employees.
Intro. 660-A – Local Law 99
Amends the New York City Human Rights Law to include sexual harassment as a form of discrimination, which will be under the jurisdiction the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
Intro. 663-A – Local Law 100
Amends the New York City Human Rights Law to increase the statute of limitations from one year to three years from the time that the alleged harassment occurred for filing harassment claims.
This New York City law comes on the heels of the New York State Legislature recently passing its own law addressing sexual harassment on April 12, 2018.
Employers should review their policies in relation to sexual harassment to ensure compliance, and should prepare to provide annual training for all employees.
If you have any questions regarding how these new laws may impact your company or organization, require assistance in drafting internal policies, or would like information in regards to anti-sexual harassment training programs in English or Spanish, please contact John E. Mancebo in our New York office.