A08421 has passed both houses and is headed to the
Governor to change discrimination laws in NYS forever.
The legislation does the following:
- Changes the severe or pervasive standard of harassment to a very low standard of more than petty slights or trivial inconveniences;
- Eliminates part of the Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense to a lawsuit by making the fact that the employee did not make a complaint about the harassment to the employer not determinative as to liability;
- Extends protection for
non-employees in the workplace to all protected classes;
- Allows courts to award
attorney's fees on all claims of employment discrimination, and allow for
punitive damages in employment discrimination cases against private
employers;
- Provide that the Human Rights
Law is to be construed liberally for remedial purposes, regardless of how
federal laws have been construed;
- Prohibit mandatory arbitration
clauses for discrimination claims;
- Prohibit non-disclosure
agreements in any settlement for a claim of discrimination, unless it's
the complainant's preference;
- Provide that any term or
condition in a non-disclosure agreement is void if it prohibits the complainant
from initiating or participating in an agency investigation or disclosing
facts necessary to receive public benefits;
- Require that employees be
notified that non-disclosure agreements in employment contracts cannot
prevent them from talking to the police, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC), the State Division of Human Rights or a similar local
entity, or a lawyer;
- Extend the authority of the
Attorney General to prosecute certain civil and criminal cases of
discrimination against all protected classes;
- Require the Department of Labor
and the Division of Human Rights to evaluate the impact of the model
sexual harassment prevention policy every four years and update the policy
as needed;
- Require any term or condition
in a non-disclosure agreement be provided in writing to all parties, in
plain English and the primary language of the complainant;
- Require the commissioner of the
Labor Department to prepare templates of the model policy in languages
other than English;
- Require every employer to
provide employees with their sexual harassment policy in English or their
primary language when they are hired and during training; and
- Extend the statute of
limitations to file a sexual harassment complaint with the Division of Human
Rights from one year to three years.
Visit discriminationpreventiontraining.com to
keep your company safe from discrimination claims while maintaining a safe
workplace for all.
