Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal announced the passage of a bill that would educate hotel and motel employees about their rights under law against sexual harassment (A.8195-A/Rosenthal).

"Hotel and motel employees are often left to work alone, leaving them vulnerable to acts of violence," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "This measure will help crack down on sexual harassment in hotels and motels. It will help prevent further victimization."

"Hotel and motel employees should not have to fear being sexually harassed at work or fear being penalized by their employers for reporting incidents of harassment," said Rosenthal (D-Manhattan). "Education, training and regulations are crucial in order to ensure that employees know their rights, what their recourses are and that management knows how to appropriately respond."

The bill would:

• Require hotel and motel employers to provide workers with interactive sexual harassment training within two months of getting hired, and once every two years thereafter;
• Require hotels and motels to certify with the Department of Labor that they have provided sexual harassment training before April 1 each year;
• Provide a penalty for a first violation of $500 and $1,000 for subsequent violations;
• Provide that employees shall not retaliate against employees for exercising their rights under this proposed section of law;
• Require the provision of a "know your rights" brochure to each employee of a hotel or motel at the commencement of his/her employment, as well as a signature certification by the employee that he/she received the brochure, on a form promulgated by the Department of Labor;
• Require hotels and motels to post employees’ rights conspicuously; and
• Require hotel and motel employers, under the guidance of the Department of Labor, to create a confidential incident reporting system.