Senator Venditto Votes to Approve Women’s Equality Package

Albany, NY- Senator Michael Venditto (R, C, I- Massapequa), this week as part of his first votes as a State Senator in Albany, voted to approve a comprehensive Women’s Equality Agenda to enhance the rights of women and protect New Yorkers who are most vulnerable to abuse and discrimination. These historic women’s measures are a top priority and were passed unanimously on the first day the Senate began voting on legislation this session.

The comprehensive package of eight bills would: 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.

The eight bills comprising the Senate’s Women’s Equality Agenda were passed in 2013 and 2014 but were not acted upon by the Assembly. The measures include:

•Preventing the exploitation of children and adults who are victims of human trafficking (S.7);

•Ensuring that women receive equal pay for equal work by prohibiting employers from paying employees disparate amounts due to gender (S.1);

•Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with pregnancy-related medical conditions (S.8);

•Preventing employment discrimination based on family status (S.4);

•Preventing housing discrimination against domestic violence victims (S.5);

•Ensuring that all employees are protected from sexual harassment by applying existing protections to businesses of all sizes (S.2);

•Removing financial barriers to fighting discrimination by allowing the recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees in successful employment or credit discrimination cases based on sex (S.3); and

•Enabling victims of domestic violence to file orders of protection electronically instead of facing the stigma of having to appear in court (S.6)

“I am proud to vote for these important and historic measures to protect and enhance the rights of women. For the benefit of every woman in New York, it’s time for the Assembly to stop putting politics ahead of women’s equality, and join us in acting on these bills so they can become law,” said Senator Venditto.