On May 24, 2024, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to “clarify the rights of employees and the responsibility of employers following allegations of workplace harassment.”...more
Most employers today have anti-harassment policies covering race, gender and other types of discrimination to help comply with state and federal antidiscrimination legislation and to take advantage of the affirmative defense...more
A recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit provides good reason for employers to make a robust effort at maintaining and disseminating a policy against discrimination and harassment....more
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the workplace has dominated the headlines recently, employers should be careful not to delay investigating non-pandemic-related complaints—particularly those of harassment. ...more
Employee claims of “hostile work environments” continue to make news both in Maine and on a national level, putting potentially embarrassing and damaging workplace and employee interpersonal issues into the public eye. But...more
On August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law S.6577, a bill implementing a series of sweeping changes to the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”). As we previously reported, S.6577 provides for a number of...more
New York continues to expand its protection of employees in the workplace with a series of laws significantly increasing the responsibilities and potential liability of New York employers. New York State has enacted...more
Several states are expanding employee workplace discrimination and harassment protections amidst the tightening grip of the #MeToo and Times Up Movements, and New York State has now taken the lead. In 2018, New York passed...more
As the New York State Legislature neared the end of the 2019 session in June, it passed several bills amending the state’s laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment. We addressed the major provisions of these new bills...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As expected, Governor Cuomo signed another landmark piece of legislation amending New York’s anti-discrimination and sexual harassment laws. Not only does the law significantly expand the protections...more
On Monday, August 12, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed off on a major expansion of the state's workplace harassment and anti-discrimination law. Although the measures were passed by the State Legislature against...more
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on August 12 signed into law new legislation expanding employee protections against discrimination and harassment. Among the key provisions are a lower standard for proving harassment,...more
On August 12, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law which strengthens further the state’s Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). The new legislation further amends anti-harassment laws enacted in 2018, discussed here,...more
On August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law significant expansions to workplace anti-discrimination protections in New York State. As we previously reported in detail, the new legislation includes numerous...more
On June 19, 2019, the New York Legislature voted to reform New York discrimination law. See NYS Assembly Bill No. A8421. Although Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign the bill, as of August 7, 2019, it still has not...more
Under Title VII, employers are vicariously liable for incidents of sexual harassment engaged in by supervisors. In its Faragher and Ellerth decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged a limited defense to claims of...more
In its latest development, the New York State Legislature expanded its signature legislation addressing sexual harassment training and prevention and passed a new bill this year that provides greater protections under the New...more
The New York State Legislature passed several bills at the end of its 2019 session which, yet again, will impact New York employers. Some of the new legislation further amends laws that were implemented last year, which...more
Building in part on amendments passed last year, the New York State Legislature has passed legislation significantly broadening protections for employees. Governor Cuomo is expected to sign the amendments into law shortly....more
The New York Legislature on June 19, 2019 unanimously passed expansive new protections for protected classes and special protections for employees who have been sexually harassed through a new bill — S.6577. According to its...more
On the last day of the 2019–2020 legislative session, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed an omnibus bill. This legislation, once effective, will overhaul New York’s anti-discrimination laws and uproot precedent...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York State Legislature has passed, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to sign, a bill amending the state’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws. The legislation significantly expands...more
In the closing days of its session, the New York State Legislature has passed sweeping changes to New York’s employment discrimination and harassment law. Major amendments to the state’s Human Rights Law significantly lower...more
As its session draws to a close, the New York State Legislature substantially revised the state’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws this week, and Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised to sign the new measures...more
Employment lawyers and most HR professionals are familiar with the Faragher-Ellerth defense to a claim of sexual harassment. In short, if an employer can show that (1) it exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct...more