New York Women’s Equality Act

On January 19, 2016, five bills that are part of the New York Women’s Equality Act will take effect. These new laws will help further pay equity, expand protections from sexual harassment, make attorneys’ fees available for sex discrimination claims, prohibit employment discrimination based on familial status, and require reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees.

New York already had equal pay protections, requiring men and women receive equal pay for equal work unless the differential is based systematically on seniority, merit, productivity, or any factor other than sex. The new protections require a pay differential to be based on a bona fide factor other than sex and consistent with business necessity, prohibit differentials in pay based on different physical locations in the same geographical area, and explicitly allow employees to discuss their wages with each other.

The state has also expanded protections in other areas. New York State Human Rights Law will now prohibit discrimination based on familial status, protect workers from sexual harassment regardless of employer size, and provide an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees for claims of discrimination based on sex. In addition, the law will now require that reasonable accommodations be made for pregnant employees—the same as if they had a temporary disability.

We recommend that employers do the following:

• Review their pay system to ensure that any pay differentials for the same work are justified by seniority, merit, productivity, or business necessity.
• Revise their hiring and personnel policies to ensure that familial status is not the basis of employment decisions.
• Review their harassment prevention and reporting policies to ensure compliance.
• Make reasonable accommodation for pregnant employees as needed.

For more information about how GTM keeps clients compliant with federal and state laws, contact us at (518) 373-4111.