Q: I am a New York employer. What are the key parts of the new amendments to the New York Human Rights law and when do they go into effect?

A.  As we detailed in an earlier post, New York state recently passed a bill that makes numerous changes to the New York Human Rights Act (“NYHRL”). Governor Cuomo signed the bill on August 12, 2019, and most of the amendments go into effect on October 11, 2019.

Among the amendments that go into effect on October 11, 2019 are the significant expansion of protected categories under the NYHRL to include age, creed, color, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, domestic violence, victim status or because an individual has opposed any practices prohibited by the NYHRL or participated in any proceeding under the NYHRL. The amendments also make it much easier for a plaintiff to demonstrate harassment, changing the standard of liability from “severe and pervasive” to whether the alleged harasser subjected the victim to “inferior terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.”

Also effective October 11, 2019, New York employers are prohibited from including non-disclosure provisions in a settlement agreement of any discrimination claim (not just claims for sexual harassment), unless the complainant prefers to include the provision, has 21 days to consider it, and seven days to revoke it.

Other aspects of the new law have later effective dates. Specifically, effective February 8, 2020, the NYHRL will apply to all employers, rather than those with four or more employees. Also, effective August 11, 2020, the statute of limitations for filing a sexual harassment claim with the New York State Division on Human Rights will increase from one to three years.