Bill Text: NY S08755 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-10 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S08755 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08755-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8755
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 10, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment 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
    25  refer all such complaints to an independent outside counsel or organiza-
    26  tion retained by the house or jointly by both houses;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15908-01-8

        S. 8755                             2
     1    (e)  provisions  clarifying that members, managers and supervisory who
     2  become aware of conduct that violates the sexual harassment  policy  are
     3  required  to  report  the  conduct, even if the apparent victim does not
     4  wish to make a complaint or asks that the information be kept  confiden-
     5  tial; and
     6    (f)  a requirement that the house or the houses jointly retain outside
     7  counsel or organizations, which will be  responsible  for  investigation
     8  and  reports of findings, conclusions and recommendations for additional
     9  action based on complaints of sexual harassment.
    10    3. The policy shall define "employee" for the purposes of this section
    11  to include, but not be limited to,  interns,  temporary  employees,  and
    12  individuals employed pursuant to a fellowship solely for the purposes of
    13  rights and remedies due to an incident of sexual harassment.
    14    4.  Such  policy statement shall be widely distributed by providing it
    15  to all employees, including it in new employee orientation materials and
    16  publicizing it in internal employee publications  and  on  their  public
    17  websites.  Each  employee shall submit written acknowledgement of his or
    18  her receipt of such policy statement.
    19    5. The policy adopted by each house shall provide that upon receipt of
    20  a complaint of sexual harassment to  the  secretary  of  the  senate  or
    21  director  of assembly administration as the case may be, a prompt inves-
    22  tigation must be  conducted  by  the  outside  counsel  or  organization
    23  retained  by the house. The findings, conclusions and recommendations of
    24  the outside counsel or organization shall be completed within sixty days
    25  after the complaint was made. After the witnesses have been interviewed,
    26  the outside counsel or organization shall provide to the accused a writ-
    27  ten general summary of the evidence provided by the  complaining  party,
    28  which shall not reveal the identity of witnesses unless the secretary of
    29  the  senate or director of assembly administration deems it necessary to
    30  do so. The accused employee  shall  have  the  opportunity  to  respond,
    31  either  orally  or  in  writing. With respect to employees of each house
    32  only, the secretary of the senate or the director of  assembly  adminis-
    33  tration  as  the  case  may be will have the authority to make the final
    34  determination of  appropriate  sanction,  if  any  is  warranted,  after
    35  considering  the  investigation report and any other evidence brought to
    36  his or her attention. If the secretary of  the  senate  or  director  of
    37  assembly  administration  determines that the policy was not violated or
    38  that there  is  insufficient  evidence  to  make  such  a  finding,  the
    39  complainant may appeal to the speaker of the assembly or temporary pres-
    40  ident of the senate in each respective house.
    41    6.  The independent officer designated in each house shall be required
    42  to investigate all complaints against members and issue a report  summa-
    43  rizing  findings  and  recommendation,  including  any  referral  to the
    44  respective standing committee on ethics in each house  of  the  legisla-
    45  ture,  or law enforcement as may be necessary and appropriate, to remedy
    46  any discriminatory conduct found in such report. The independent officer
    47  shall provide an initial determination of the validity of an  allegation
    48  of  sexual harassment within sixty days of a complaint and a recommenda-
    49  tion of action within thirty days after the conclusion of  the  investi-
    50  gation and initial determination.
    51    7. The outside counsel or organizations retained pursuant to paragraph
    52  (f)  of  subdivision  two of this section shall not be subject to termi-
    53  nation but for good cause by the legislature or the temporary  president
    54  or speaker of the assembly as the case may be.
    55    8.  Each  house  shall  conduct  appropriate  training to instruct and
    56  sensitize all employees. All trainings  shall  include,  at  a  minimum,

        S. 8755                             3
     1  information  concerning  the  federal and state statutory provisions and
     2  any relevant local laws concerning sexual harassment and remedies avail-
     3  able to victims of sexual harassment. Such training shall be:
     4    (a)  for  members  of  the  legislature, at least two hours within the
     5  first six months of a member's election;
     6    (b) for officers or employees of the legislature, at least  two  hours
     7  within the first six months of employment;
     8    (c)  for both members and officers or employees of the legislature, at
     9  least two hours within six months of the effective date of this  section
    10  if  an  officer or employee was employed on or before the effective date
    11  of this section, and every year thereafter; and
    12    (d) for employees of the legislature deemed to be supervisory  employ-
    13  ees by the appointing authority, an additional one hour every year.
    14    9.  The provisions of this section shall be deemed to be in compliance
    15  with section two hundred one-g of the labor law.
    16    10. Nothing in this section shall be construed to  conflict  with  any
    17  other rights of individuals under local, state or federal law.
    18    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
    19  manner as section 1 of subpart E of part KK of chapter 57 of the laws of
    20  2018, takes effect.
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