ALBANY, N.Y. — When considering the allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) you may wonder: what are New York State's rules for sexual harassment?
2 On Your Side took a closer look at the guidelines and how they apply to every employee and employer, including the state's highest office.
Eight minimum requirements provide a framework for employers and training material that clearly defines and discusses, "what is and what is not acceptable in the workplace."
On Wednesday, a reporter from Rochester brought up a key part of the state's policy: a required yearly sexual harassment training session.
"Governor, have you yourself taken the sexual harassment training required by New York...," asked the reporter.
"Uh, the short answer is yes," responded the Governor.
Cuomo is now accused of violating the very Department of Labor standards he championed back in 2018, along with Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and State Senator Liz Krueger.
In one particular Department of Labor training video titled Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Part 1, several allegations against the Governor are addressed although not explicitly.
Sexual harassment is broken down into two main forms, hostile environment, and quid pro quo.
A hostile environment is defined in several ways including:
- Physical acts of a sexual nature (including but limited to, touching, pinching, patting, grabbing, kissing, hugging, brushing against another employee's body, or poking another employee's body)
Another section of the same training video also mentions commenting on a person's sexual experience as a form of sexual harassment.
The training video explains that anyone in the workplace can be a perpetrator of sexual harassment, whether unintentional or not.
Supervisors are "held to a high standard of behavior" and expected to model it.
A method by which to report alleged incidents of sexual harassment is required as well.
"Behavior doesn't need to be a violation of law in order to be in violation of policy," said Roberta Reardon, Commissioner of the NYS Department of Labor.
The video concludes with a section titled 'Investigative and Corrective Action,' which states "anyone who engages in sexual harassment or retaliation will be subject to remedial and disciplinary action."
The process by which an investigation is conducted is also laid out.
If you or someone you know believes they were sexually harassed you're advised to notify your employer's Human Resources Department and file a complaint.
The New York State Division of Human Rights can also process complaints. The same for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.