Policy

Here are the sexual harassment bills still being debated in New York

Seven sexual harassment bills were not in a package recently signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, but would further increase protection for victims.

Assembly Member Catalina Cruz sponsored multiple sexual harassment bills.

Assembly Member Catalina Cruz sponsored multiple sexual harassment bills. NYS Assembly

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of legislation to address workplace harassment and discrimination into law this week. The legislative package established a hotline for complaints of workforce sexual harassment, made state and public employees subject to the Human Rights Law and prohibited the release of personnel records as a retaliatory action against employees.

“We have to be able to protect women and let them know there is a safe place for them,” Hochul said at a press conference this week in New York City. “No matter where they want to work, that place must be safe for them.”

Albany has long been regarded as a boys’ club where harassment is permitted, creating a hostile work environment for staffers at every level. The bills Hochul signed took at that reality and come after many reports of sexual harassment in the capital through the years.

Lawmakers and advocates are celebrating the new measures, but many anti-sexual harassment measures are still before the state Legislature. This includes several bills that passed the state Senate earlier this month but were not included in the recently signed package, as well as bills that would make sexual harassment a misdemeanor. All of these bills await passage before the scheduled end of the 2022 legislative session on June 2. 

Here is a breakdown of what the seven remaining anti-sexual harassment bills would do.  

Requiring anti-sexual harassment training for lobbyists

This bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Liu and Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, would require lobbyists to complete annual anti-sexual harassment training courses. There have been instances of sexual harassment by lobbyists working closely with state staff. The legislation seeks to “ensure they uphold the standards expected in NYS government.” The bill hasn’t passed either chamber this session, but its co-sponsors plan to continue pushing for its enactment. 

Prohibiting fines for breaches of nondisclosure agreements

This bill, sponsored by Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Assembly Member Nily Rozic, protects harassment victims against fines after signing an NDA. The bill would prevent sexual harassment survivors from being forced to pay large financial sanctions for breaking an NDA because they’ve decided to share their story with the public years after signing. The bill passed the state Senate early this month and is awaiting passage by the Assembly.

Extending the statute of limitations for sexual harassment 

This bill, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, would extend the statute of limitations to report workplace discrimination from three to six years. “Those who are victims of workplace harassment may not come forward or file complaints for quite some time after the first instance occurs,” reads a legislative memo. The bill passed the state Senate early this month and is currently before the Codes Committee in the Assembly. 

Extending the statute of limitations for unlawful discriminatory complaints

This bill, sponsored by state Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assembly Member Nily Rozic, extends the statute of limitations for reporting claims resulting from unlawful discriminatory practices to three years for all claims. This includes discrimination based on gender, sex, marital status or sexual orientation. The current time limit to file a complaint against an employer is one year, unless it's gender-based harassment which is the only claim with a limit of three years. The bill passed the state Senate early this month and awaits passage by the Assembly before it can get signed into law.

Protecting employees’ future job prospects

This bill, sponsored by Gounardes and Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, protects the hiring rights of employees who are victims of sexual harassment. The bill prohibits so-called “no-rehire clauses,” which prevent the victim from seeking a job with the same employer in the future, in settlement contracts. The bill passed the state Senate early this month and is before the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Making sexual harassment by elected officials a misdemeanor

This bill, sponsored by Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, would elevate sexual harassment by members of the state Legislature to a Class A misdemeanor. Doing so would make sexual harassment a crime punishable by up to one year in jail rather than a civil matter. This bill awaits passage by both chambers.

Establishing the crime of sexual harassment

This bill, sponsored by state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, would establish specific types of sexual harassment as a Class A misdemeanor for everyone, not just elected officials. It would specify slapping, striking, shoving and kicking another person, without consent, for sexual arousal or gratification as acts of sexual harassment. The legislative memo claims the bill “will provide prosecutors with an important new tool to hold domestic abusers accountable for their conduct.” The bill is awaiting passage by the Codes Committees of both chambers.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.