Bill > S03817

This bill expands protections against discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The key provisions include: 1. Expanding the definition of "employer" to include all employers within the state, including state and local governments. 2. Prohibiting discriminatory or retaliatory harassment based on protected characteristics, even if it does not rise to the level of severe or pervasive. 3. Holding employers, licensing agencies, employment agencies, and labor organizations liable for the discriminatory conduct of their employees, agents, and independent contractors in certain circumstances. 4. Allowing for punitive damages in employment discrimination cases and requiring the award of attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs in such cases. 5. Eliminating the Faragher/Ellerth defense, which previously allowed employers to avoid liability for harassment by supervisors if they had anti-harassment policies and procedures in place. 6. Clarifying that the "because of" standard in disparate treatment cases means the unlawful motive was a motivating factor, without precluding or limiting the use of the disparate impact method of proving liability.

Government Affairs

https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=S03817&term=2019&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y