ANDY’S $LAM AT HARASSERS
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo on Tuesday proposed a comprehensive package of bills to combat workplace sexual harassment — by sparing taxpayers from paying for settlements involving public officials and barring governments from entering into secret settlements not expressly sought by victims.
The package would also create a uniform code of sexual harassment to guide state and local governments that would include a whistleblower process allowing people to anonymously bring complaints without fear of retribution.
It also would require private companies doing business with the state to report sexual assault and harassment statistics. And the package would void the inclusion of policies or clauses in employee contracts that require mandatory arbitration — which Cuomo says prevents sexual harassment cases from being considered in law enforcement investigations and trials.
The governor is set to include the package in his annual State of the State address on Wednesday.
“2017 brought a long-overdue reckoning, where the secret and pervasive poison of workplace sexual harassment was exposed by brave women who said, ‘This ends now,’ ” said Cuomo (photo).
“Our challenge in government is to turn society’s revulsion into reform, and we in New York must seize the moment and lead the way. There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment in any workplace, and we can and will end the secrecy and coercive practices that have enabled harassment for far too long.”
Similar versions of a number of the proposals have already been introduced in the Legislature, improving the chances of some type of package passing during the legislative session.
Cuomo’s speech will kick off the 2018 session and his reelection year. He enters his eighth year in office with the state facing at least a $4.4 billion budget deficit.
The governor, who is believed to have national political ambitions, is expected to spend part of his talk focusing on how federal actions could adversely affect the state.
During the past few weeks, Cuomo has outlined a number of initiatives he will touch on in his address while also playing to a national audience in bashing federal actions like the recently approved tax bill. On Wednesday, he is expected to call for the revamping of the state tax code and for a congestion pricing program that would charge more money to travel into busy parts of Manhattan during peak hours, though he likely won’t provide specific. The additional revenue would be used to help fund the cash-starved MTA.
Mayor de Blasio, who is scheduled to be be in the audience for the speech, prefers a tax hike on the wealthy to help the MTA.
State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan on Tuesday released his conference’s priorities for the new legislative session. They include record funding for opioid addiction, regulatory and tax reforms and a “top-to-bottom” review of Cuomo’s economic development spending and strategies.
“There can be no sacred cows,” Flanagan said. GOV. CUOMO wants to move cargo ships out of Red Hook and put more mass transit into the Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood. As part of his State of the State address Wednesday, Cuomo will call on the Port Authority to study whether it can relocate maritime operations from the Red Hook Container Terminal to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park. He’ll also ask the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to look at ways to improve access to Red Hook, including the possibility of extending subway service. The Port Authority said it’s onboard and “looks forward to engaging and moving forward with” Cuomo’s study. A spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio said it’s too early to say how Cuomo’s proposals would affect City Hall’s plans, including the proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector streetcar.