Support for Strengthening Whistleblower and Human Rights Law Protections for State Employees

     

Reinvent Albany supports two bills from the Sexual Harassment Working Group’s 2021 Legislative Agenda that will close loopholes to better protect state employees under the state’s whistleblower and human rights laws:

  1. A5825 (Cruz)/S1096 (Liu) – includes legislative and judicial employees under state civil service law whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections. (PDF of Memo of Support here).
  2. A2483B (Niou)/S3395A (Gounardes) – ensures that employees of elected and appointed officials are better able to hold state government accountable and are protected under NYS Human Rights Law’s anti-discrimination and harassment provisions. (PDF of Memo of Support here).

The full text of the joint memos of support with Common Cause New York and the League of Women Voters of New York State are below.

MEMO OF SUPPORT

A2483A (Niou)/S3395 (Gounardes) of 2021

TITLE OF BILL
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the definition of “employer” for purposes of the human rights law.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
Section 1 amends section 292 of the Executive Law, as amended by Chapter 161 of the laws of 2019, to provide that the state shall be considered the employer of elected and appointed officials and their staff for the purposes of the Human Rights Law, and also extends this provision to localities within the state.

Section 2 states that act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after the effective date of Chapter 161 of the laws of 2019.

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT
Our groups support this legislation because it will help ensure that employees of elected and appointed officials – including in the legislative, judicial or executive branches – are better able to hold state government accountable, and are protected under NYS Human Rights Law’s anti-discrimination and harassment provisions.

Federal Title VII Civil Rights Law currently carves out elected officials’ “personal staff” from covered employees, exempting these individuals from federal protections. The state, however, can and should eliminate this carveout from its own laws. Under current state law, employees of elected officials have not been able to effectively hold their employers – the state – accountable for harassment, which is another form of abuse of power. Because of this carveout, the state and its component units have argued effectively in court that they are not the employer of victims of discrimination and harassment who work for elected officials. This bill will provide all state employees legal recourse and the ability to better hold state government accountable for all forms of abuse of power.

This bill is part of the Sexual Harassment Working Group’s 2021 Legislative Agenda.

 


MEMO OF SUPPORT

A5825 (Cruz)/S1096 (Liu) of 2021

TITLE OF BILL
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to the definition of a public employee or employee.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
Section 1 amends Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 75-b of the civil service law to include all employees of judges, justices of the unified court system, and members of the legislature within the definition of a “public employee” or “employee.”

Section 2 makes the act effective immediately.

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT
The state’s current whistleblower law for state employees, Section 75-b of the civil service law, excludes legislative or judicial staff from the definition of “public employee.” This denies legislative and judicial employees the same protections afforded state agency employees under the law’s whistleblower anti-retaliation provisions. The bill would add legislative and judicial staff to the definition of “public employee,” closing a loophole in the civil service law.

Our groups support this legislation because it will help ensure that legislative and judicial employees who report violations of law, improper conduct, or abuses of power are better protected from retaliation or disciplinary action from their employers: the legislative and judicial branches of state government. State law should not discourage state employees from reporting violations of law, and there should not be separate standards for these legislative and judicial employees compared to state agency workers. This legislation would close this loophole and better enable all state employees to hold state government accountable for misconduct.

This bill is part of the Sexual Harassment Working Group’s 2021 Legislative Agenda.