NYS Sexual Harassment Law 2018 Revisions

Even if there is only one employee, one 1099 employee and that’s you, and you are being sexually harassed, you can fight back. Also under the same new revised law, effective July 2018, mandatory arbitration will no longer be mandatory for sexual harassment claims in New York.

Bullying is legal in the workplace except…

The only bullying that is illegal is if you’re being treated differently because of who you are as a woman, a person of color, because of your religion, your age, your disability, your pregnancy, or because you decline unwelcome sexual advances at work – then you are being discriminated against, retaliated against, or just treated badly – that’s all illegal.

It’s all about the complaint…

If you are dealing with harassment in the workplace, very important that you complain to your employer. Give them a chance to investigate your allegations of gender discrimination, or harassment based on your race, color, pregnancy, national origin – it doesn’t matter. The point is, that you have to give the employer, the company, the opportunity to fix it.

NY now permits sexual harassment claims against small employers

If you are being sexually harassed and you work for an employer in New York, it doesn’t matter now how small your employer is. Even if there is only one employee, and you’re that employee, and you’re experiencing unwanted sexual attention – any kind of sexualizing conduct, or sexist hostility – you can now hold your employer accountable. And, if you prevail, you are entitled to your attorney fees for holding their feet to the fire.