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A08195 Summary:

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A08195 Floor Votes:

A08195 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8195--A
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      June 6, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. ROSENTHAL, WRIGHT, MILLMAN, MAISEL, DINOWITZ,
          SCHIMEL, JEFFRIES, BARRON, N. RIVERA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
          ARROYO, GABRYSZAK, GLICK,  GOTTFRIED,  McENENY,  P. RIVERA,  ROBINSON,
          RUSSELL  --  read  once  and  referred  to  the  Committee on Labor --
          reported  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Codes  --   committee

          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring sexual harass-
          ment training for hotel and motel employees
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The labor law is amended by adding a new section 202-l to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 202-l. Sexual harassment training for hotel and motel employees.  1.
     4  On  or after the ninetieth day after the effective date of this section,
     5  hotels and motels  shall  provide  sexual  harassment  training  to  its
     6  employees  via  a  classroom or other effective interactive training and
     7  shall include, but not be limited to, the following topics:

     8    (a) Information and practical guidance regarding  federal,  state  and
     9  local statutory laws about sexual harassment;
    10    (b)  Information  about  the  correction  of sexual harassment and the
    11  remedies available to victims of sexual harassment;
    12    (c)  Practical  examples  aimed  at  instructing  supervisors  in  the
    13  prevention of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
    14    2. Hotels and motels shall have two months from the hiring date of any
    15  new employee to provide sexual harassment training for such employee.
    16    3.  Employees  shall  receive training every two years following their
    17  initial training.
    18    4. On or before April first following the training  required  pursuant

    19  to subdivision one of this section, and every year thereafter, operators
    20  of  such  hotel  or motel shall certify to the department that they have
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11855-08-1
        A. 8195--A                          2
 
     1  conducted sexual harassment training and  shall  include  an  electronic
     2  list  of the employees who participated in the training.  The department
     3  will issue a hotel or motel a certificate of compliance  upon  receiving
     4  such list.
     5    5.  Immediately  upon  commencement  of  employment and prior to their

     6  sexual harassment training, employees shall be  provided  with  a  "know
     7  your  rights" brochure detailing the rights and remedies available under
     8  federal, state and local law. The brochure  shall  be  produced  by  the
     9  department,  in  plain  English,  and  shall  be made available in other
    10  languages, including but not limited to Spanish, Haitian French, Chinese
    11  and Russian.   Employees shall sign a statement  on  a  document  to  be
    12  produced by the department, certifying that they have received the "know
    13  your rights" brochure required pursuant to this section.
    14    6.  Employers shall conspicuously post an employee's bill of rights to
    15  be promulgated by the department. The bill of rights shall be written in

    16  plain English, and shall be made available in other languages, including
    17  but not limited to Spanish, Haitian French, Chinese and Russian.
    18    7.   The department shall establish  protocol  for  sexual  harassment
    19  training which shall be available online to hotels and motels subject to
    20  the provisions of this section.
    21    8. Under the supervision of the department, all employers shall create
    22  and  implement  a  comprehensive  and  confidential  incident  reporting
    23  system, and shall put clear procedures in place to guide  employees  and
    24  managers in the reporting of sexual harassment incidents.
    25    9.  Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall result
    26  in a penalty of five hundred dollars for the first  violation,  and  for

    27  the second and each subsequent violation, the penalty shall be one thou-
    28  sand dollars.
    29    10. (a) Failure to provide the training and education required by this
    30  section may be considered as a factor in determining whether an employer
    31  may  be  held  liable  for  a claim of sexual harassment or hostile work
    32  environment under applicable law, but liability may  not  be  predicated
    33  solely  upon  such  failure.  An employer's compliance with this section
    34  shall not  constitute  a  defense  in  any  judicial  or  administrative
    35  proceeding  where  a claim of sexual harassment or hostile work environ-
    36  ment has been brought.
    37    (b) Employers shall be prohibited from retaliating against any employ-

    38  ee who exercises their  rights  under  this  section,  or  any  employee
    39  reporting  a  complaint  to management or the authorities that they have
    40  not received training pursuant to this section or a complaint of  sexual
    41  harassment.
    42    11. The training and education required by this section is intended to
    43  establish  a minimum threshold and should not discourage, or relieve any
    44  employer from providing for longer, more  frequent,  or  more  elaborate
    45  training  and education regarding workplace harassment or other forms of
    46  unlawful discrimination in order to meet its  obligations  to  take  all
    47  reasonable  steps  necessary  to  prevent  and  correct  harassment  and
    48  discrimination.

    49    12. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall  have  the
    50  following meanings:
    51    (a)  "Hotel" and/or "motel" shall mean establishments distinguished as
    52  hotels, motels, bungalow colonies, or any other establishment comparable
    53  or equivalent to any of those previously mentioned. The term  shall  not
    54  include  those  places  or  facilities not having the general character-
    55  istics of a hotel or motel as that term is generally understood and  the
    56  commissioner  of health shall have the power to except from this article
        A. 8195--A                          3
 
     1  and the sanitary code a place or facility that is not within the  intent
     2  of  this  definition  of  a motel or hotel.   The term shall not include

     3  small family owned and operated hotels, motels or bed and breakfasts.
     4    (b)  "Employee" shall mean any person employed for hire including sub-
     5  contractors who works twenty hours or more per week.
     6    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
     7  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
     8  repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
     9  this act on its effective date are authorized and directed  to  be  made
    10  and completed on or before such effective date.