Senator Martins Announces New Women’s Equality Laws

     Senator Jack M. Martins (R-7th Senate District) announced that a comprehensive package of legislation to enhance women’s rights and protect those who are most vulnerable to abuse and discrimination has been signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.  The new laws, of which Senator Martins was a sponsor in the Senate, will: stop human trafficking; ensure equal pay for equal work; combat sexual harassment in the workplace; end gender discrimination in employment, housing and credit decisions; make reasonable work accommodations available for pregnant women; and provide stronger protections for domestic violence victims.

    “These are important, long overdue reforms that will better protect victims of domestic violence, prevent harassment and discrimination, and ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.  As a husband and father of four girls, I’m pleased that politics has been put aside and the Senate, Assembly, and Governor worked together to deliver a much needed result for women across the state,” said Senator Martins. 

    The new laws include:

     THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION AND JUSTICE ACT

    This law toughens penalties against those who buy and sell young women, men, and children and reduce the stigma defendants may face when they are victims of the massive $32 billion sex trafficking industry.

    Key provisions of the measure include increasing the accountability of traffickers and buyers by raising the penalty for sex trafficking to a class B violent felony; creating the felony sex offense of “aggravated patronizing a minor”; and aligning the penalties for patronizing a minor with those of statutory rape.  

    The law will also strengthen the investigative tools used to build a case against traffickers.  Sex trafficking will be an affirmative defense to prostitution and the term “prostitute” will be eliminated from the Penal Law, as that term stigmatizes defendants who are in fact victims of sex trafficking.  Nowhere else in the state’s Penal Law are individuals identified by the crime they allegedly committed.

     ENSURING EQUAL PAY 

     Employers will be prohibited from paying employees disparate amount due to gender.  This would help ensure that women receive the wages to which they are entitled.

    Despite existing protections under the law, women in New York earn 84 percent of what men earn and jobs traditionally held by women pay significantly less than jobs predominately employing men. In New York, on average, a woman working full time is paid $42,113 per year, while a man working full time is paid $50,388 per year. This creates a wage gap of $8,275 between full-time working men and women in the state.     

    STOPPING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON FAMILY STATUS

    Prevent discrimination in the hiring and promotion of people with families. Employers will be prohibited from denying work or promotions based on family status, such as parents and women who are pregnant. Previously, the law only prohibited discrimination based on family status in credit and housing, but not employment -- which can have a negative impact on women with children.

    ENDING PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE 

    Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees with pregnancy-related medical conditions. A pregnancy-related condition would be treated as a temporary disability and employers will be required to perform a reasonable accommodation analysis for employees with conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. 

    PREVENTING HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

    Housing providers cannot discriminate against domestic violence victims, and victims would have the option of a civil action if discrimination occurs.

    Discrimination against victims of domestic violence is almost always discrimination against women. Eighty-five percent of domestic violence victims are women; 1.3 million women are victims of assault by an intimate partner each year. Many of these victims are forced to stay with or return to their abusive partners because of a lack of available housing or when they are refused housing.

    PROHIBITING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

    Workers will now be protected from sexual harassment regardless of the size of the workplace.  Previously, people working at businesses with fewer than four employees could not file a harassment complaint with the state because small employers were exempt from the law that prohibits harassment. More than 60 percent of the state's private employers have fewer than four employees. This law will ensure that all employees are protected from sexual harassment by applying existing protections to businesses of all sizes. 

    Sexual harassment disproportionately affects women in the workplace. In 2011, women filed 75 percent of all sexual harassment complaints with the New York State Division of Human Rights and 83 percent of all sexual harassment complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

    REMOVING BARRIERS TO REMEDYING DISCRIMINATION

    Barriers to remedying discrimination will be removed by allowing for reasonable attorney's fees in employment and credit discrimination cases when sex is a basis of discrimination. 

    Previously, attorney's fees for sex discrimination cases involving employment, credit, and lending were not available even after the plaintiff proves discrimination at trial. As a result, many who are discriminated against and cannot afford to hire an attorney never sought redress. Also, those who hire an attorney on a contingency fee arrangement were not "made whole" for their losses because they paid for their attorneys out of their recovery. Some who cannot afford to hire an attorney, but who try to do so on a contingency basis, were unsuccessful because the case is either too small or too risky. 

    ALLOWING ELECTRONIC FILING FOR ORDERS OF PROTECTION

    Victims will be allowed to electronically file for orders of protection. The law creates a pilot program to allow domestic violence victims to seek temporary orders of protection through electronic means rather than having to appear in person. The Office of Court Administration will be required to review and update its policies and services to make sure the services available to all crime victims are adequate and appropriate.