Bill Text: NY A01202 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to requiring training to reduce abusive behavior, bullying, and cyberbullying in the workplace; requires the commissioner of labor, in consultation with the commissioner of human rights, to develop an abusive behavior, bullying, and cyberbullying in the workplace prevention training program for all employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-16 - enacting clause stricken [A01202 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01202-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1202

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. JOYNER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Labor

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  labor law, in relation to requiring training to
          reduce abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds and
     2  declares that abusive conduct and bullying in the  workplace  undermines
     3  the  morale,  health,  dignity and well-being of public servants and can
     4  lead to stress, absenteeism, physical violence and reduced productivity.
     5  The legislature further finds and declares it is in the best interest of
     6  taxpayers that all state agencies, departments,  offices,  and  taxpayer
     7  supported  workplaces  are free from bullying and other abusive behavior
     8  and that annual training should be required to help reduce the incidence
     9  of bullying and abusive behavior in the workplace.
    10    § 2. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 27-e to read  as
    11  follows:
    12    §  27-e.  Abusive  conduct  and  bullying  in the workplace prevention
    13  training. 1. For purposes of this section,  the  following  terms  shall
    14  have the following meanings:
    15    (a)  "abusive  conduct"  means  the  verbal,  non-verbal,  or physical
    16  conduct of an employee to another employee that, based on its  severity,
    17  nature and frequency of occurrence, a reasonable person would determine:
    18    (1)  is  intended to cause intimidation, humiliation, marginalization,
    19  or unwarranted distress; or
    20    (2) results in substantial physical or psychological harm as a  result
    21  of  intimidation, humiliation, marginalization, or unwarranted distress;
    22  or
    23    (3) exploits an employee's known physical or psychological disability.
    24  A single act does not constitute abusive conduct unless it is especially
    25  severe and egregious.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04456-01-3
        A. 1202                             2

     1    (b) "bullying" means the creation of a  hostile  work  environment  by
     2  conduct  or  by threats, intimidation or abuse, including cyberbullying,
     3  that:
     4    (1)  has  or  would  have the effect of unreasonably and substantially
     5  interfering with an employee's performance, opportunities  or  benefits,
     6  or mental, emotional or physical well-being; or
     7    (2)  reasonably  causes  or  would  reasonably be expected to cause an
     8  employee to fear for his or her physical safety; or
     9    (3) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to  cause  phys-
    10  ical injury or emotional harm to an employee; or
    11    (4)  occurs  away  from  the worksite and creates or would foreseeably
    12  create a risk of substantial disruption  within  the  work  environment,
    13  where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation or abuse
    14  might  reach  the work location. Acts of bullying shall include, but not
    15  be limited to, those acts based on a person's actual or perceived  race,
    16  creed,  color,  weight, national origin, ethnic group, disability, fami-
    17  lial status, sexual orientation, military  status,  gender  identity  or
    18  expression  or  sex.  For  the  purposes  of  this  definition  the term
    19  "threats, intimidation or abuse" shall  include  verbal  and  non-verbal
    20  actions.
    21    (c)  "cyberbullying"  means harassment or bullying as defined in para-
    22  graph (b) of this subdivision, including subparagraphs one,  two,  three
    23  and  four  of such subdivision, where such harassment or bullying occurs
    24  through any form of electronic communication.
    25    (d) "employer," "employee" and "workplace" shall have the same meaning
    26  as used in section twenty-seven-b of this article.
    27    2. The commissioner, in consultation with the  state  commissioner  of
    28  human rights, shall develop an abusive conduct and bullying in the work-
    29  place prevention training program for all employees.
    30    (a) Such training shall be interactive and include:
    31    (1)  an  explanation  of  abusive conduct, bullying and cyberbullying,
    32  consistent with the division of human rights;
    33    (2) examples of conduct that would constitute abusive conduct,  bully-
    34  ing  and cyberbullying and the ramifications of abusive workplace behav-
    35  ior, bullying and cyberbullying;
    36    (3) resources available  to  employees  who  believe  they  have  been
    37  subjected to abusive conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying; and
    38    (4)  information concerning employees' right of redress and all avail-
    39  able forms for adjudicating complaints.
    40    (b) The training  shall  include  information  addressing  conduct  by
    41  supervisors and any additional responsibilities for such supervisors.
    42    3.  No  employer  shall  take  retaliatory action against any employee
    43  because the employee seeks any form of  redress  available  to  them  in
    44  relation to an abusive workplace, bullying or cyberbullying.
    45    4.  Each  employee  shall  receive such training as soon as reasonably
    46  practicable and on an annual basis thereafter, provided,  however,  that
    47  all  employees shall receive such training on or before September first,
    48  two thousand twenty-four.
    49    5. The commissioner may promulgate regulations  as  he  or  she  deems
    50  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  carrying  out  the provisions of this
    51  section.
    52    6. Employers shall document any reported incidents of  abusive  behav-
    53  ior,  bullying  or  cyberbullying  and  provide  a summary report to the
    54  commissioner on December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-four and each
    55  year thereafter. Such report shall include the date  of  each  incident,
        A. 1202                             3

     1  the  nature  of  the incident and the steps the employer took to address
     2  such behavior.
     3    7. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-seven, and every succeed-
     4  ing four years thereafter, the department in consultation with the divi-
     5  sion of human rights shall evaluate, using criteria within this section,
     6  the  impact of the current abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace
     7  prevention training program. Upon the completion of each evaluation, the
     8  department shall update the training as needed.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    10  it shall have become a law.