Text of NY S 3065 (2024)

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3065 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 27, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring training to reduce abusive conduct and bullying, and cyberbullying in the work- place 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, reporting and remediation. 1. For purposes of this section, 14 the following terms shall have the following meanings: 15 (a) "abusive conduct" shall mean 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 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04456-02-3 S. 3065 2 1 (3) exploits an employee's known physical or psychological disability. 2 A single act does not constitute abusive conduct unless it is especially 3 severe and egregious. 4 (b) "bullying" shall mean the creation of a hostile work environment 5 by conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse, including cyberbully- 6 ing, that: 7 (1) has or would have the effect of unreasonably and substantially 8 interfering with an employee's performance, opportunities or benefits, 9 or mental, emotional or physical well-being; or 10 (2) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause an 11 employee to fear for his or her physical safety; or 12 (3) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause phys- 13 ical injury or emotional harm to an employee; or 14 (4) occurs away from the worksite and creates or would foreseeably 15 create a risk of substantial disruption within the work environment, 16 where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation or abuse 17 might reach the work location. Acts of bullying shall include, but not 18 be limited to, those acts based on a person's actual or perceived race, 19 creed, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, disability, fami- 20 lial status, sexual orientation, military status, gender identity or 21 expression or sex. For the purposes of this definition the term 22 "threats, intimidation or abuse" shall include verbal and non-verbal 23 actions. 24 (c) "cyberbullying" shall mean harassment or bullying as defined in 25 paragraph (b) of this subdivision, including subparagraphs one, two, 26 three and four of such paragraph, where such harassment or bullying 27 occurs through any form of electronic communication. 28 (d) "employer" shall mean the state of New York. 29 (e) "employee" shall mean a public employee working for an employer. 30 (f) "workplace" shall mean any location, permanent or temporary, where 31 an employee performs any work-related duty in the course of his or her 32 employment by an employer. 33 2. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of human 34 rights and in conjunction with the representatives of employees, shall 35 develop a written policy statement outlining the responsibility of all 36 state employees to behave in a respectful and civil manner. Such policy 37 statement shall include, at a minimum: 38 (a) clear standards outlining appropriate behavior in the workplace; 39 and 40 (b) a process for reporting incidents of bullying, cyberbullying 41 and/or abusive conduct; and 42 (c) dispute resolution procedures, including non-disciplinary proce- 43 dures, that align with current practices and collective bargaining 44 agreements, if any; and 45 (d) resources for victims to get assistance. 46 3. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of human 47 rights and in conjunction with the representatives of employees, shall 48 develop a training program designed to prevent abusive conduct and 49 bullying in the workplace for all employees. 50 (a) Such training shall be interactive and include: (i) a review of 51 the policy statement developed pursuant to subdivision two of this 52 section; (ii) an explanation of abusive conduct, bullying and cyberbul- 53 lying; (iii) examples of conduct that would constitute abusive conduct, 54 bullying and cyberbullying and the ramifications of abusive workplace 55 behavior, bullying and cyberbullying; (iv) resources available to 56 employees who believe they have been subjected to abusive conduct, S. 3065 3 1 bullying, or cyberbullying, and (v) information concerning employees' 2 right of redress and all available forms for adjudicating complaints. 3 (b) The training shall include information addressing conduct by 4 supervisors and any additional responsibilities for such supervisors to 5 address incidents of abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace, 6 including specific training for all supervisors on managing conflict and 7 dispute resolution techniques. No employer shall take retaliatory action 8 against any employee because the employee seeks any form of redress 9 available to them in relation to an abusive workplace, bullying or 10 cyberbullying. 11 4. Each employee shall receive such training as soon as reasonably 12 practicable and on an annual basis thereafter, provided, however, that 13 all employees shall receive such training on or before September first, 14 two thousand twenty-four. 15 5. The commissioner may promulgate regulations consistent with exist- 16 ing procedures and collective bargaining agreements, if any, as he or 17 she deems necessary for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of 18 this section, provided, however, that such regulations shall include a 19 written policy statement outlining the responsibility of all state 20 employees to behave in a respectful and civil manner. 21 6. It shall be the duty of the employer to: 22 (a) be vigilant for signs of abusive conduct, bullying or cyberbully- 23 ing at work through observation and information seeking and take action 24 to resolve inappropriate behavior before escalation; and 25 (b) deal sensitively with employees involved in a complaint; and 26 (c) explain the resources available to employees who believe they have 27 been subjected to abusive conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying, and 28 information concerning employees' right of redress and all available 29 forms for adjudicating complaints; and 30 (d) ensure that an employee is not subjected to any retaliatory action 31 because the employee seeks any form of redress available to them in 32 relation to an abusive workplace, bullying or cyberbullying; and 33 (e) monitor and follow up on the situation after a complaint is made 34 to prevent recurrence of such behavior. 35 7. Any employee or group of employees or a representative of employees 36 who believes that a violation of this section has occurred shall bring 37 such matter to the attention of a supervisor and the human services 38 department in the form of a written notice of complaint. 39 8. Where an employee or representative of an employee files a written 40 notice of complaint with the employer pursuant to subdivision seven of 41 this section, the employer shall investigate such allegations of abusive 42 conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying, secure written documentation from 43 all parties involved and work to resolve the issues in a timely manner 44 provided, further that: 45 (a) any employee or supervisor seeking to file a complaint should 46 ensure that the complaint is confined to and consists of precise details 47 of each incident of alleged abusive conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying; 48 and 49 (b) complaints alleging abusive conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying 50 should be reported to the complainant's immediate supervisor. Supervi- 51 sors shall consult with the agency's human resources office and provide 52 a response and/or update to the complainant within fourteen calendar 53 days. If the alleged abusive conduct, bullying, or cyberbullying is 54 from the immediate supervisor, the complaint should be reported to the 55 supervisor's supervisor or directly to the agency's human resources 56 office. S. 3065 4 1 (c) complaints from multiple employees within the same agency may be 2 brought to the New York state office of employee relations. 3 9. If the employer finds after the completion of the investigation 4 prescribed in subdivision eight of this section that a violation of this 5 section has occurred, such employer shall work to immediately remedy the 6 situation in accordance with the existing disciplinary policies and 7 procedures and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the 8 collective bargaining agreement, if any. 9 10. The employers shall document any reported incidents of abusive 10 behavior, bullying or cyberbullying and provide a summary report and any 11 supporting documentation, including any complaint forms, to the commis- 12 sioner, the employees and the representative of employees on December 13 thirty-first, two thousand twenty-four and each year thereafter. Such 14 report shall include the date of each incident, the nature of the inci- 15 dent and the steps the employer took to address such behavior. 16 11. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-six, and every succeed- 17 ing four years thereafter, the department, in consultation with the 18 division of human rights and in conjunction with the representative of 19 employees, shall evaluate, using criteria within this section, the 20 impact of the current abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace 21 prevention training program. Upon the completion of each evaluation, the 22 department, in conjunction with the representative of employees, shall 23 update the training as needed. 24 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 25 it shall have become a law.