New York - Human Rights Law

Three new laws designed to further combat workplace harassment and discrimination were signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on March 16, 2022.

After conducting an analysis of the Suffolk County Human Rights Law (“HRL”) as it pertains to housing discrimination, the Suffolk County Fair Housing Task Force (“Task Force”) released its final report and recommendations to lawmakers in its continued efforts to combat housing discrimination.

In recent years both New York State and New York City have actively amended their anti-discrimination laws to expand worker protections. For example, both the state and city have passed laws requiring most employers to distribute anti-sexual harassment policies and to provide anti-harassment trainin

Employers will face greater potential liability under bills passed on June 19 and 20 to lower the standard of review for sexual harassment cases (S.6577 [Biaggi]/A.8421 [Simotas] and a related amendment [S. 6594/A. 8424]). The final, omnibus bill was crafted with the participation of Governor Andrew

On April 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed a first-of-its-kind bill that prohibits pre-employment drug testing for the presence of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bill into law, which would take effect one year after enactment.1 Significantly,

As we have previously reported,1 New York State and New York City both enacted legislation in 2018 that require New York employers to train their employees in workplace sexual harassment prevention. The state training legislation went into effect on October 9, 2018, and the city training legislation

The New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has released model policies for the City’s lactation room law, effective March 18, 2019.

Protections for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming employees in New York have been given a boost. Significant changes to the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) will expand the scope of prohibited discriminatory conduct. Additionally, New York State has enacted the Gender Express

Executive Summary. In groundbreaking legislation last year, New York State amended its Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL") to prohibit sexual harassment against non-employees of all types, including models, stylists, and artists in the fashion industry who are classified (correctly or not) as independent co

New York and California are often characterized as two of the most employee-friendly states in the country. In continuation of that perception, New York City and California are announcing new employee leave initiatives.

Effective March 18, 2019, New York City employers with at least four workers must provide lactation rooms for employees and maintain a written policy for distribution to employees upon hire.

As previously reported, this year both the State of New York and the City of New York enacted legislation requiring employers to distribute sexual harassment prevention policies and to train their workforce about the prevention of workplace sexual harassment and available legal remedies. On October

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) as guidance on the “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act.”

The #MeToo movement and its widespread publicity of issues involving sexual harassment in the workplace have sparked new legislation affecting all employers, including public employers.

Enacted this past January, New York City’s “Temporary Schedule Change” law becomes effective on July 18, 2018.1 The law provides employees with the right to request two temporary schedule changes per calendar year for “personal events,” and employers must ensure that they are prepared to respond to

Executive Summary: In November, the New York City Council passed a law amending the Earned Sick Time Act, changing the name to the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), and allowing employees to use paid time off under ESSTA if they or their family members are victims of domestic violence and other

Mandatory annual sexual harassment training for employees in New York City is one feature of a package of legislation targeting sexual harassment in the workplace signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio on May 9, 2018. Most private employers in New York City will be required to conduct annual sexual harassme

Amendments to the New York City “Earned Safe and Sick Time Act” (ESTA) went into effect on May 5, 2018. Eligible employees under the ESTA will be able to use paid time off for circumstances resulting from the employee or a covered family member of the employee being the victim of family offense matt

Executive Summary: In the fiscal year 2019 budget, the New York State Legislature passed several new laws aimed at preventing workplace sexual harassment, including banning mandatory arbitration and requiring anti-harassment policies and training. These new laws, a response to the larger social conv

Executive Summary: On April 11, 2018, the New York City Council passed a package of bills intended to prevent sexual harassment. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bills into law. The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) is charged with enforcing the new laws.