Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Jason Habinsky was featured in a National Public Radio (NPR) segment titled “Amid #MeToo, New York Employers Face Strict New Sexual Harassment Laws,” which aired Oct. 9 on All Things Considered.
Here is an excerpt of an article that accompanied the radio program:
The past year has altered the way employers think about sexual harassment.
The high-profile cases have highlighted the business risk for employers, the willingness of workers to talk about it openly, and the potential liability of not properly handling workplace complaints, says Jason Habinsky, a New York attorney representing employer clients. "It certainly has changed the landscape," he says.
Habinsky says the new laws present a "challenging opportunity" for businesses to re-examine their policies, if they already have them.
"You want to have training that goes well beyond sexual harassment. You want to cover discrimination and harassment based on any protected category [such as age, disability, race and gender], not just sexual harassment," he says.
The law does not require the state to monitor for compliance, or for businesses to show that they've completed the employee training. But Habinsky says that does not mean employers won't face consequences if they don't follow through.
"If they don't, the state can certainly audit them or investigate them," he says.
To read the NPR article and listen to the radio segment, click here.