Bill Text: NY S02677 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to policies regarding the prevention of sexual harassment in the legislature.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S02677 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S02677-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2677
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 28, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. MAYER, BRESLIN, BROOKS, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, LIU, MAY,
          METZGER -- read twice and ordered printed,  and  when  printed  to  be
          committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
        AN  ACT  to amend the legislative law, in relation to policies regarding
          the prevention of sexual harassment in the legislature
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. The legislative law is amended by adding a new section 7-h
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 7-h. Prevention of sexual harassment in the legislature. 1. It shall
     4  be the policy of the legislature to prevent sexual harassment among  the
     5  members, officers, and employees who work in the New York state legisla-
     6  ture,  each  of  whom must be guaranteed a workplace free of harassment.
     7  The provisions of this section apply to  the  employment  conditions  of
     8  each house.
     9    2.  Each house shall issue a strong management policy statement defin-
    10  ing and prohibiting sexual harassment in their  respective  house.  Such
    11  policy  statement  shall  include,  but is not limited to, the following
    12  provisions:
    13    (a) a clear prohibition of sexual harassment; defining sexual  harass-
    14  ment  as a form of employee misconduct and affirming that sanctions will
    15  be enforced  against  individuals  engaging  in  sexual  harassment  and
    16  against  supervisory  and  managerial personnel who knowingly allow such
    17  behavior to continue;
    18    (b) a description of  the  rights  provided  to  employees,  including
    19  interns and fellows, who allege they have been subject to sexual harass-
    20  ment;
    21    (c)  clarification  that  the  definition of an employee shall include
    22  interns, fellows and volunteers;
    23    (d) provisions providing for the process of filing of complaints  with
    24  the  director of human resources in each house, who shall be required to
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01358-01-9

        S. 2677                             2
     1  refer all such complaints to an independent outside counsel or organiza-
     2  tion retained by the house or jointly by both houses;
     3    (e)  provisions  clarifying that members, managers and supervisory who
     4  become aware of conduct that violates the sexual harassment  policy  are
     5  required  to  report  the  conduct, even if the apparent victim does not
     6  wish to make a complaint or asks that the information be kept  confiden-
     7  tial; and
     8    (f)  a requirement that the house or the houses jointly retain outside
     9  counsel or organizations, which will be  responsible  for  investigation
    10  and  reports of findings, conclusions and recommendations for additional
    11  action based on complaints of sexual harassment.
    12    3. The policy shall define "employee" for the purposes of this section
    13  to include, but not be limited to,  interns,  temporary  employees,  and
    14  individuals employed pursuant to a fellowship solely for the purposes of
    15  rights and remedies due to an incident of sexual harassment.
    16    4.  Such  policy statement shall be widely distributed by providing it
    17  to all employees, including it in new employee orientation materials and
    18  publicizing it in internal employee publications  and  on  their  public
    19  websites.  Each  employee shall submit written acknowledgement of his or
    20  her receipt of such policy statement.
    21    5. The policy adopted by each house shall provide that upon receipt of
    22  a complaint of sexual harassment to  the  secretary  of  the  senate  or
    23  director  of assembly administration as the case may be, a prompt inves-
    24  tigation must be  conducted  by  the  outside  counsel  or  organization
    25  retained  by the house. The findings, conclusions and recommendations of
    26  the outside counsel or organization shall be completed within sixty days
    27  after the complaint was made. After the witnesses have been interviewed,
    28  the outside counsel or organization shall provide to the accused a writ-
    29  ten general summary of the evidence provided by the  complaining  party,
    30  which shall not reveal the identity of witnesses unless the secretary of
    31  the  senate or director of assembly administration deems it necessary to
    32  do so. The accused employee  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  respond,
    33  either  orally  or  in  writing. With respect to employees of each house
    34  only, the secretary of the senate or the director of  assembly  adminis-
    35  tration  as  the  case  may be will have the authority to make the final
    36  determination of  appropriate  sanction,  if  any  is  warranted,  after
    37  considering  the  investigation report and any other evidence brought to
    38  his or her attention. If the secretary of  the  senate  or  director  of
    39  assembly  administration  determines that the policy was not violated or
    40  that there  is  insufficient  evidence  to  make  such  a  finding,  the
    41  complainant may appeal to the speaker of the assembly or temporary pres-
    42  ident of the senate in each respective house.
    43    6.  The independent officer designated in each house shall be required
    44  to investigate all complaints against members and issue a report  summa-
    45  rizing  findings  and  recommendation,  including  any  referral  to the
    46  respective standing committee on ethics in each house  of  the  legisla-
    47  ture,  or law enforcement as may be necessary and appropriate, to remedy
    48  any discriminatory conduct found in such report. The independent officer
    49  shall provide an initial determination of the validity of an  allegation
    50  of  sexual harassment within sixty days of a complaint and a recommenda-
    51  tion of action within thirty days after the conclusion of  the  investi-
    52  gation and initial determination.
    53    7. The outside counsel or organizations retained pursuant to paragraph
    54  (f)  of  subdivision  two of this section shall not be subject to termi-
    55  nation but for good cause by the legislature or the temporary  president
    56  or speaker of the assembly as the case may be.

        S. 2677                             3
     1    8.  Each  house  shall  conduct  appropriate  training to instruct and
     2  sensitize all employees. All trainings  shall  include,  at  a  minimum,
     3  information  concerning  the  federal and state statutory provisions and
     4  any relevant local laws concerning sexual harassment and remedies avail-
     5  able to victims of sexual harassment. Such training shall be:
     6    (a)  for  members  of  the  legislature, at least two hours within the
     7  first six months of a member's election;
     8    (b) for officers or employees of the legislature, at least  two  hours
     9  within the first six months of employment;
    10    (c)  for both members and officers or employees of the legislature, at
    11  least two hours within six months of the effective date of this  section
    12  if  an  officer or employee was employed on or before the effective date
    13  of this section, and every year thereafter; and
    14    (d) for employees of the legislature deemed to be supervisory  employ-
    15  ees by the appointing authority, an additional one hour every year.
    16    9.  The provisions of this section shall be deemed to be in compliance
    17  with section two hundred one-g of the labor law.
    18    10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to  conflict  with  any
    19  other rights of individuals under local, state or federal law.
    20    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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