Bill Text: NY A01202 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to requiring training to reduce abusive behavior, bullying, and cyberbullying in the workplace; requires the commissioner of labor, in consultation with the commissioner of human rights, to develop an abusive behavior, bullying, and cyberbullying in the workplace prevention training program for all employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-16 - enacting clause stricken [A01202 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01202-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1202--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. JOYNER -- read once and referred 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  training  to
          reduce  abusive  conduct  and bullying, and cyberbullying in the work-
          place

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds and
     2  declares that abusive conduct and bullying in the  workplace  undermines
     3  the  morale,  health,  dignity and well-being of public servants and can
     4  lead to stress, absenteeism, physical violence and reduced productivity.
     5  The legislature further finds and declares it is in the best interest of
     6  taxpayers that all state agencies, departments,  offices,  and  taxpayer
     7  supported  workplaces  are free from bullying and other abusive behavior
     8  and that annual training should be required to help reduce the incidence
     9  of bullying and abusive behavior in the workplace.
    10    § 2. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 27-e to read  as
    11  follows:
    12    §  27-e.  Abusive  conduct  and  bullying  in the workplace prevention
    13  training, reporting and remediation.  1. For purposes of  this  section,
    14  the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    15    (a)  "abusive  conduct" shall mean the verbal, non-verbal, or physical
    16  conduct of an employee to another employee that, based on its  severity,
    17  nature and frequency of occurrence, a reasonable person would determine:
    18    (1)  is  intended to cause intimidation, humiliation, marginalization,
    19  or unwarranted distress; or
    20    (2) results in substantial physical or psychological harm as a  result
    21  of  intimidation, humiliation, marginalization, or unwarranted distress;
    22  or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04456-03-3
        A. 1202--A                          2

     1    (3) exploits an employee's known physical or psychological disability.
     2  A single act does not constitute abusive conduct unless it is especially
     3  severe and egregious.
     4    (b)  "bullying"  shall mean the creation of a hostile work environment
     5  by conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse,  including  cyberbully-
     6  ing, that:
     7    (1)  has  or  would  have the effect of unreasonably and substantially
     8  interfering with an employee's performance, opportunities  or  benefits,
     9  or mental, emotional or physical well-being; or
    10    (2)  reasonably  causes  or  would  reasonably be expected to cause an
    11  employee to fear for his or her physical safety; or
    12    (3) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to  cause  phys-
    13  ical injury or emotional harm to an employee; or
    14    (4)  occurs  away  from  the worksite and creates or would foreseeably
    15  create a risk of substantial disruption  within  the  work  environment,
    16  where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation or abuse
    17  might  reach  the work location. Acts of bullying shall include, but not
    18  be limited to, those acts based on a person's actual or perceived  race,
    19  creed,  color,  weight, national origin, ethnic group, disability, fami-
    20  lial status, sexual orientation, military  status,  gender  identity  or
    21  expression  or  sex.  For  the  purposes  of  this  definition  the term
    22  "threats, intimidation or abuse" shall  include  verbal  and  non-verbal
    23  actions.
    24    (c)  "cyberbullying"  shall  mean harassment or bullying as defined in
    25  paragraph (b) of this subdivision,  including  subparagraphs  one,  two,
    26  three  and  four  of  such  paragraph, where such harassment or bullying
    27  occurs through any form of electronic communication.
    28    (d) "employer" shall mean the state of New York.
    29    (e) "employee" shall mean a public employee working for an employer.
    30    (f) "workplace" shall mean any location, permanent or temporary, where
    31  an employee performs any work-related duty in the course of his  or  her
    32  employment by an employer.
    33    2.  The  commissioner,  in consultation with the commissioner of human
    34  rights and in conjunction with the representatives of  employees,  shall
    35  develop  a  written policy statement outlining the responsibility of all
    36  state employees to behave in a respectful and civil manner.  Such policy
    37  statement shall include, at a minimum:
    38    (a) clear standards outlining appropriate behavior in  the  workplace;
    39  and
    40    (b)  a  process  for  reporting  incidents  of bullying, cyberbullying
    41  and/or abusive conduct; and
    42    (c) dispute resolution procedures, including  non-disciplinary  proce-
    43  dures,  that  align  with  current  practices  and collective bargaining
    44  agreements, if any; and
    45    (d) resources for victims to get assistance.
    46    3.  The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner  of  human
    47  rights  and  in conjunction with the representatives of employees, shall
    48  develop a training program  designed  to  prevent  abusive  conduct  and
    49  bullying in the workplace for all employees.
    50    (a)  Such  training  shall be interactive and include: (i) a review of
    51  the policy statement developed  pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of  this
    52  section;  (ii) an explanation of abusive conduct, bullying and cyberbul-
    53  lying; (iii) examples of conduct that would constitute abusive  conduct,
    54  bullying  and  cyberbullying  and the ramifications of abusive workplace
    55  behavior,  bullying  and  cyberbullying;  (iv)  resources  available  to
    56  employees  who  believe  they  have  been  subjected to abusive conduct,
        A. 1202--A                          3

     1  bullying, or cyberbullying, and (v)  information  concerning  employees'
     2  right of redress and all available forms for adjudicating complaints.
     3    (b)  The  training  shall  include  information  addressing conduct by
     4  supervisors and any additional responsibilities for such supervisors  to
     5  address  incidents  of  abusive  conduct  and bullying in the workplace,
     6  including specific training for all supervisors on managing conflict and
     7  dispute resolution techniques. No employer shall take retaliatory action
     8  against any employee because the employee  seeks  any  form  of  redress
     9  available  to  them  in  relation  to  an abusive workplace, bullying or
    10  cyberbullying.
    11    4. Each employee shall receive such training  as  soon  as  reasonably
    12  practicable  and  on an annual basis thereafter, provided, however, that
    13  all employees shall receive such training on or before September  first,
    14  two thousand twenty-four.
    15    5.  The commissioner may promulgate regulations consistent with exist-
    16  ing procedures and collective bargaining agreements, if any,  as  he  or
    17  she  deems  necessary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of
    18  this section, provided, however, that such regulations shall  include  a
    19  written  policy  statement  outlining  the  responsibility  of all state
    20  employees to behave in a respectful and civil manner.
    21    6. It shall be the duty of the employer to:
    22    (a) be vigilant for signs of abusive conduct, bullying or  cyberbully-
    23  ing  at work through observation and information seeking and take action
    24  to resolve inappropriate behavior before escalation; and
    25    (b) deal sensitively with employees involved in a complaint; and
    26    (c) explain the resources available to employees who believe they have
    27  been subjected to  abusive  conduct,  bullying,  or  cyberbullying,  and
    28  information  concerning  employees'  right  of redress and all available
    29  forms for adjudicating complaints; and
    30    (d) ensure that an employee is not subjected to any retaliatory action
    31  because the employee seeks any form of  redress  available  to  them  in
    32  relation to an abusive workplace, bullying or cyberbullying; and
    33    (e)  monitor  and follow up on the situation after a complaint is made
    34  to prevent recurrence of such behavior.
    35    7. Any employee or group of employees or a representative of employees
    36  who believes that a violation of this section has occurred  shall  bring
    37  such  matter  to  the  attention  of a supervisor and the human services
    38  department in the form of a written notice of complaint.
    39    8.  Where an employee or representative of an employee files a written
    40  notice of complaint with the employer pursuant to subdivision  seven  of
    41  this section, the employer shall investigate such allegations of abusive
    42  conduct,  bullying,  or cyberbullying, secure written documentation from
    43  all parties involved and work to resolve the issues in a  timely  manner
    44  provided, further that:
    45    (a)  any  employee  or  supervisor  seeking to file a complaint should
    46  ensure that the complaint is confined to and consists of precise details
    47  of each incident of alleged abusive conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying;
    48  and
    49    (b) complaints alleging abusive conduct,  bullying,  or  cyberbullying
    50  should  be reported to the complainant's immediate supervisor.  Supervi-
    51  sors shall consult with the agency's human resources office and  provide
    52  a  response  and/or  update  to the complainant within fourteen calendar
    53  days.  If the alleged abusive conduct,  bullying,  or  cyberbullying  is
    54  from  the  immediate supervisor, the complaint should be reported to the
    55  supervisor's supervisor or directly  to  the  agency's  human  resources
    56  office.
        A. 1202--A                          4

     1    (c)  complaints  from multiple employees within the same agency may be
     2  brought to the New York state office of employee relations.
     3    9.  If  the  employer  finds after the completion of the investigation
     4  prescribed in subdivision eight of this section that a violation of this
     5  section has occurred, such employer shall work to immediately remedy the
     6  situation in accordance with  the  existing  disciplinary  policies  and
     7  procedures  and  in  accordance  with  the  terms  and conditions of the
     8  collective bargaining agreement, if any.
     9    10.  The employers shall document any reported  incidents  of  abusive
    10  behavior, bullying or cyberbullying and provide a summary report and any
    11  supporting  documentation, including any complaint forms, to the commis-
    12  sioner, the employees and the representative of  employees  on  December
    13  thirty-first,  two  thousand  twenty-four and each year thereafter. Such
    14  report shall include the date of each incident, the nature of the  inci-
    15  dent and the steps the employer took to address such behavior.
    16    11.  Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-six, and every succeed-
    17  ing four years thereafter, the  department,  in  consultation  with  the
    18  division  of  human rights and in conjunction with the representative of
    19  employees, shall evaluate,  using  criteria  within  this  section,  the
    20  impact  of  the  current  abusive  conduct and bullying in the workplace
    21  prevention training program. Upon the completion of each evaluation, the
    22  department, in conjunction with the representative of  employees,  shall
    23  update the training as needed.
    24    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    25  it shall have become a law.