ALBANY, N.Y. (WCBS 880/AP) — New York has expanded workplace harassment protection for all public employees, and has banned the release of anyone's employment records in retaliation for speaking up about alleged abuse.
Those are part of a package of new laws signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday.
"My administration has cleaned house, this is a new day in New York," Hochul said. "As I said on the first day that everyone has the right to a safe, secure workplace where they are valued and respected."
Previously, state law excluded personal staff of elected officials and judges from anti-discrimination protection.
"All the protections that are out there in the private sector, they now are conferred upon all state workers for the first time," Hochul said. "You have an advocate in me, you have a champion who understands that not only do I want to protect everyone today, but I have a daughter and a granddaughter on the way so this is personal."
A toll free hotline for workers to report sexual harassment complaints will also be established in the state.
Attorney General Letitia James touted the bill, tweeting sexual harassment "has been a silent barrier for women in the workplace for far too long."
The new law addressing retaliation directly targets a tactic that the state attorney general says former Gov. Andrew Cuomo used to try to discredit a woman who accused him of sexual harassment. Cuomo resigned in August.
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