NY State Senate Bill 2019-S3343A

Senate Bill S3343A

2019-2020 Legislative Session

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Labor Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to labor
Jun 20, 2019	committed to rules
Feb 27, 2019	advanced to third reading
Feb 26, 2019	2nd report cal.
Feb 12, 2019	1st report cal.154
Feb 06, 2019	print number 3343a
Feb 06, 2019	amend and recommit to labor
Feb 05, 2019	referred to labor

Votes

- Feb 12, 2019 - Labor Committee Vote
  S3343A
  
  10
  
  Aye
  
  1
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Labor Committee Vote: Feb 12, 2019
      
      aye (10)
      
      Funke
      
      Gounardes
      
      Jackson
      
      Martinez
      
      Mayer
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Robach
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      nay (1)
      
      Akshar
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Gallivan
      
      Lanza

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2019-S3343 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3646
Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §201-g, Lab L

2019-S3343 - Summary

Relates to requiring employers to provide employees notice of their sexual harassment prevention policy and sexual harassment prevention training program in writing in English and in employees' primary languages; requires the commissioner of labor to create dual-language templates of model sexual harassment prevention policies and training programs.

2019-S3343 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3343

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring employers to
provide employees notice of their sexual harassment prevention policy
and sexual harassment prevention training program in writing in English
and in employees' primary languages

 
PURPOSE:

Ensures employees are properly notified of their employers' sexual
harassment prevention policy and sexual harassment prevention training
program and create a hospitable work environment for all employees.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the labor law by adding new subdivision 2-a.

Subdivision b. requires that employers adopt or establish a sexual

harassment prevention policy that meets the minimum standards and
provide the policy to all employees in writing.

Subdivision 2-a a. establishes that employees must provide the notice of
the employers' sexual harassment prevention policy in writing both in
English and each employees' primary language. The notification require-
ment applies at the time of hiring and at every annual sexual harassment
prevention training. The employer must obtain written acknowledgement
from each employee that they received such notice and include that the
employer verified the employee's primary language.

Subdivision 2-a b. establishes that the commissioner shall prepare model
sexual harassment prevention policy. Model templates shall be duel
language in English and one additional language at the discretion of the
commissioner. All templates will be made available to employers.

Subdivision 2-a c. in the event that a language template does not exist
in an employee's primary language an English notice may be provided.

Subdivision 2-a d. ensures that the employer is not penalized for any
errors or omissions in non-English templates provided by the commission-
er.

Subdivision 2-a e. requires that employers notify all employees in writ-
ing of any changes to the sexual harassment prevention policy or
anything presented in the sexual harassment prevention training at least
seven days prior to the change going into effect.

Section 2 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent events on the national level have highlighted the pervasiveness
of sexual harassment in the workplace and society in general. The U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner (EEOC), the entity responsible
for enforcing federal laws preventing discrimination, received more than
1,200 individual charge filings in FY 2016 for cases involving sex
discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, in New York State
alone. These cases make up nearly one-third of the total New York indi-
vidual charge filings received by the EEOC. Despite the prevalence of
sexual harassment, there is no uniform requirement for employers to
notify their employees of sexual harassment prevention.

As victims of sexual harassment continue to step forward, it is impor-
tant that we encourage reporting and shine a light on the importance of
taking proactive steps to assist victims, as well as preventing future
victimization. Sexual harassment and sex discrimination are not new
phenomena. According to an ABC News-Washington Post poll, 54% of Ameri-
can women have experienced "unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances,"
and 30% of women have experienced such behavior from male colleagues.
Furthermore, nearly one out of four women have been subjected to such
advances by "someone who had influence over their work situation."

The new regulations and templates are a step in the right direction but
without ensuring that all employees are notified properly and in their
primary language, meaningful change in the workplace will be hard to
come by.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take 90 days after it becomes law.

2019-S3343 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3343
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 5, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation  to  requiring  employers  to
   provide  employees notice of their sexual harassment prevention policy
   and sexual  harassment  prevention  training  program  in  writing  in
   English and in employees' primary languages
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 201-g of the  labor
 law,  as added by section 1 of subpart E of part KK of chapter 57 of the
 laws of 2018, is amended and a new subdivision 2-a is added to  read  as
 follows:
   b.  Every  employer shall adopt the model sexual harassment prevention
 policy promulgated pursuant to this subdivision or  establish  a  sexual
 harassment prevention policy to prevent sexual harassment that equals or
 exceeds  the  minimum standards provided by such model sexual harassment
 prevention policy. Such sexual harassment  prevention  policy  shall  be
 provided to all employees in writing AS REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION TWO-A OF
 THIS  SECTION.  Such  model sexual harassment prevention policy shall be
 publicly available and posted on the websites of both the department and
 the division of human rights.
   2-A. A. EVERY EMPLOYER SHALL PROVIDE HIS OR HER EMPLOYEES, IN  WRITING
 IN ENGLISH AND IN THE LANGUAGE IDENTIFIED BY EACH EMPLOYEE AS THE PRIMA-
 RY  LANGUAGE OF SUCH EMPLOYEE, AT THE TIME OF HIRING AND AT EVERY ANNUAL
 SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING PROVIDED PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION
 TWO  OF THIS SECTION, A NOTICE CONTAINING SUCH EMPLOYER'S SEXUAL HARASS-
 MENT PREVENTION POLICY AND THE INFORMATION PRESENTED AT SUCH  EMPLOYER'S
 SEXUAL  HARASSMENT  PREVENTION  TRAINING PROGRAM. EACH TIME THE EMPLOYER
 PROVIDES SUCH NOTICE TO AN EMPLOYEE, THE EMPLOYER SHALL OBTAIN FROM  THE
 EMPLOYEE  A  SIGNED AND DATED WRITTEN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, IN ENGLISH AND IN
 THE PRIMARY LANGUAGE OF THE EMPLOYEE, OF RECEIPT OF THIS  NOTICE,  WHICH
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01373-01-9

 S. 3343                             2
 
 THE  EMPLOYER  SHALL PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN FOR SIX YEARS.  SUCH ACKNOWL-
 EDGEMENT SHALL INCLUDE AN AFFIRMATION BY THE EMPLOYEE THAT THE  EMPLOYEE
 ACCURATELY  IDENTIFIED  HIS OR HER PRIMARY LANGUAGE TO THE EMPLOYER, AND
 THAT  THE  NOTICE  PROVIDED BY THE EMPLOYER TO SUCH EMPLOYEE PURSUANT TO
 THIS SUBDIVISION WAS IN THE LANGUAGE SO IDENTIFIED OR OTHERWISE COMPLIED
 WITH PARAGRAPH C OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AND SHALL  CONFORM  TO  ANY  ADDI-
 TIONAL  REQUIREMENTS  ESTABLISHED  BY  THE  COMMISSIONER  WITH REGARD TO
 CONTENT AND FORM.
   B. THE COMMISSIONER  SHALL  PREPARE  TEMPLATES  OF  THE  MODEL  SEXUAL
 HARASSMENT  PREVENTION POLICY CREATED AND PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF THIS SECTION AND  THE  MODEL  SEXUAL  HARASSMENT  PREVENTION
 TRAINING  PROGRAM  PRODUCED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
 EACH SUCH TEMPLATE SHALL BE DUAL-LANGUAGE,  INCLUDING  ENGLISH  AND  ONE
 ADDITIONAL  LANGUAGE.    THE COMMISSIONER SHALL DETERMINE, IN HIS OR HER
 DISCRETION, WHICH LANGUAGES TO PROVIDE IN ADDITION TO ENGLISH, BASED  ON
 THE  SIZE OF THE NEW YORK STATE POPULATION THAT SPEAKS EACH LANGUAGE AND
 ANY OTHER FACTOR THAT THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  DEEM  RELEVANT.  ALL  SUCH
 TEMPLATES  SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYERS IN SUCH MANNER AS DETER-
 MINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   C. WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IDENTIFIES  AS  HIS  OR  HER  PRIMARY  LANGUAGE  A
 LANGUAGE  FOR  WHICH  A TEMPLATE IS NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE COMMISSIONER,
 THE EMPLOYER SHALL  COMPLY  WITH  THIS  SUBDIVISION  BY  PROVIDING  THAT
 EMPLOYEE AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NOTICE OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
   D.  AN  EMPLOYER SHALL NOT BE PENALIZED FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE
 NON-ENGLISH PORTIONS OF ANY NOTICE PROVIDED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   E. EVERY EMPLOYER SHALL NOTIFY HIS OR HER EMPLOYEES IN WRITING OF  ANY
 CHANGES  TO  HIS  OR  HER  SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION POLICY OR TO THE
 INFORMATION PRESENTED IN HIS OR HER SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION  TRAIN-
 ING  PROGRAM,  AT  LEAST  SEVEN  CALENDAR DAYS PRIOR TO THE TIME OF SUCH
 CHANGES.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.  Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2019-S3343A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3646
Current Committee:: Senate Labor
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §201-g, Lab L

2019-S3343A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S3343A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3343A

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring employers to
provide employees notice of their sexual harassment prevention policy
and sexual harassment prevention training program in writing in English
and in employees' primary languages

 
PURPOSE:

Ensures employees are properly notified of their employers' sexual
harassment prevention policy and sexual harassment prevention training
program and create a hospitable work environment for all employees.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the labor law by adding new subdivision 2-a.  Subdivi-
sion b. requires that employers adopt or establish a sexual harassment
prevention policy that meets the minimum standards and provide the poli-

cy to all employees in writing.

Subdivision 2-a a. Every employer shall provide his or her, in writing
in English and in the language identified by each employee as the prima-
ry language of such employee, at the time of hiring and at every annual
sexual harassment prevention training provided pursuant to subdivision
two of this section, a notice containing such employer's sexual harass-
ment prevention policy and the information presented at such employer's
sexual harassment prevention training program.

Subdivision 2-a b. Establishes that the Commissioner shall prepare model
sexual harassment prevention policy. Model templates shall be duel
language, including English and one additional language. The Commission-
er shall determine, in his or her discretion, which languages to provide
in addition to English, based on the size of the New York State popu-
lation that speaks each language and any other factor that the Commis-
sioner shall deem relevant. All templates will be made available to
employers in such manner as determined by the Commissioner.

Subdivision 2-a c. When an employee identifies his or her primary
language, a language for which a template is not available from the
Commissioner, the employeer shall comply with this subdivision by
providing that employee an English-language notice.  Subdivision 2-a d.
An employer shall not be penalized for errors or omissions in the non-
English portions of any notice provided by the Commissioner.

Section 2 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent events on the national level have highlighted the pervasiveness
of sexual harassment in the workplace and society in general. The U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner (EEOC), the entity responsible
for enforcing federal laws preventing discrimination, received more than
1,200 individual charge filings in FY 2016 for cases involving sex
discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, in New York State
alone. These cases make up nearly one-third of the total New York indi-
vidual charge filings received by the EEOC.  Despite the prevalence of
sexual harassment, there is no uniform requirement for employers to
notify their employees of sexual harassment prevention.

As victims of sexual harassment continue to step forward, it is impor-
tant that we encourage reporting and shine a light on the importance of
taking proactive steps to assist victims, as well as preventing future
victimization. Sexual harassment and sex discrimination are not new
phenomena. According to an ABC News-Washington Post poll, 54% of Ameri-
can women have experienced "unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances,"
and 30% of women have experienced such behavior from male colleagues.
Furthermore, nearly one out of four women have been subjected to such
advances by "someone who had influence over their work situation."

The new regulations and templates are a step in the right direction but
without ensuring that all employees are notified properly and in their
primary language, meaningful change in the workplace will be hard to
come by.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take 90 days after it becomes law.

2019-S3343A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  3343--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 5, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Labor  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the labor law, in relation to requiring employers to
   provide employees notice of their sexual harassment prevention  policy
   and  sexual  harassment  prevention  training  program  in  writing in
   English and in employees' primary languages
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 201-g of the labor
 law, as added by section 1 of subpart E of part KK of chapter 57 of  the
 laws  of  2018, is amended and a new subdivision 2-a is added to read as
 follows:
   b. Every employer shall adopt the model sexual  harassment  prevention
 policy  promulgated  pursuant  to this subdivision or establish a sexual
 harassment prevention policy to prevent sexual harassment that equals or
 exceeds the minimum standards provided by such model  sexual  harassment
 prevention  policy.  Such  sexual  harassment prevention policy shall be
 provided to all employees in writing AS REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION TWO-A OF
 THIS SECTION. Such model sexual harassment prevention  policy  shall  be
 publicly available and posted on the websites of both the department and
 the division of human rights.
   2-A.  A. EVERY EMPLOYER SHALL PROVIDE HIS OR HER EMPLOYEES, IN WRITING
 IN ENGLISH AND IN THE LANGUAGE IDENTIFIED BY EACH EMPLOYEE AS THE PRIMA-
 RY LANGUAGE OF SUCH EMPLOYEE, AT THE TIME OF HIRING AND AT EVERY  ANNUAL
 SEXUAL  HARASSMENT  PREVENTION TRAINING PROVIDED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 TWO OF THIS SECTION, A NOTICE CONTAINING SUCH EMPLOYER'S SEXUAL  HARASS-
 MENT  PREVENTION POLICY AND THE INFORMATION PRESENTED AT SUCH EMPLOYER'S
 SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING PROGRAM.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01373-03-9

 S. 3343--A                          2
 
   B. THE COMMISSIONER  SHALL  PREPARE  TEMPLATES  OF  THE  MODEL  SEXUAL
 HARASSMENT  PREVENTION POLICY CREATED AND PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
 SION ONE OF THIS SECTION AND  THE  MODEL  SEXUAL  HARASSMENT  PREVENTION
 TRAINING  PROGRAM  PRODUCED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
 EACH  SUCH  TEMPLATE  SHALL  BE DUAL-LANGUAGE, INCLUDING ENGLISH AND ONE
 ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE.  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL DETERMINE, IN  HIS  OR  HER
 DISCRETION,  WHICH LANGUAGES TO PROVIDE IN ADDITION TO ENGLISH, BASED ON
 THE SIZE OF THE NEW YORK STATE POPULATION THAT SPEAKS EACH LANGUAGE  AND
 ANY  OTHER  FACTOR  THAT  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL DEEM RELEVANT. ALL SUCH
 TEMPLATES SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYERS IN SUCH MANNER AS  DETER-
 MINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   C.  WHEN  AN  EMPLOYEE  IDENTIFIES  AS  HIS  OR HER PRIMARY LANGUAGE A
 LANGUAGE FOR WHICH A TEMPLATE IS NOT AVAILABLE  FROM  THE  COMMISSIONER,
 THE  EMPLOYER  SHALL  COMPLY  WITH  THIS  SUBDIVISION  BY PROVIDING THAT
 EMPLOYEE AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NOTICE.
   D. AN EMPLOYER SHALL NOT BE PENALIZED FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS  IN  THE
 NON-ENGLISH PORTIONS OF ANY NOTICE PROVIDED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.  Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such effective date.

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