New York Enacts Women's Equality Act: Employment Law Manual Updated, Legal Timetables Added
Authors: XpertHR Editorial Team
On October 21, 2015, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Women's Equality Act, which contains multiple pieces of legislation aimed at achieving equity in the workplace for women and ending discrimination and inequality based on sex. The amended laws will take effect on January 19, 2016.
New laws of interest to employers under the Act address equal pay, reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, attorney fees in sex discrimination cases, employer coverage in sexual harassment cases and familial status discrimination.
The latest round of updates to XpertHR's comprehensive resources are detailed below.
Under an amendment to the New York Human Rights Act, an employee will be able to bring a claim of sexual harassment against his or her employer regardless of the employer's size. Presently, the law only applies to employers with four or more employees. Based on this development, the New York EEO-Discrimination, EEO-Harassment, Terms of Employment, Employee Discipline and Performance Appraisals sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated and a Legal Timetable entry has been added.
Under an amendment to the New York Human Rights Act, employers, employment agencies, licensing agencies and labor organizations will be prohibited from engaging in employment discrimination based on familial status. Based on this development, the New York EEO-Discrimination, EEO-Harassment, EEO-Retaliation, Terms of Employment, Employee Discipline, Interviewing and Selecting Job Candidates and Performance Appraisals sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated and a Legal Timetable entry has been added.
Under an amendment to the New York Human Rights Act, prevailing plaintiffs will be permitted to recover attorney fees in employment discrimination cases based on sex. Presently, plaintiffs cannot recover attorney fees at trial in employment discrimination cases. Based on this development, the New York EEO-Discrimination, EEO-Harassment and EEO-Retaliation sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated and a Legal Timetable entry has been added.
Under an amendment to the New York Human Rights Act, New York employers will be required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with pregnancy-related conditions as long as such employees may reasonably perform the activities involved in the job or occupation sought or held. Based on this development, the New York EEO-Discrimination, EEO-Harassment, Disabilities (ADA), Employee Discipline and Performance Appraisals sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated and a Legal Timetable entry has been added.
The Women's Equality Act also makes significant amendments to New York's equal pay law by:
- Clarifying the circumstances under which a wage differential is permitted;
- Protecting employees who inquire about, discuss or disclose their wages or the wages of another; and
- Allowing successful plaintiffs to recover an increased amount of liquidated damages.
Based on this development, the New York EEO-Discrimination, Terms of Employment, Employee Communications, Interviewing and Selecting Job Candidates and Employee Discipline sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated and a Legal Timetable entry has been added.
