Dems urge review of policies
TROY, N.Y. » For the past two months, members of the Rensselaer County Legislature’s Democratic minority have attempted to push forward a resolution calling for the establishment of a committee to conduct a comprehensive review of county policies and procedures related to workplace violence, harassment and discrimination that would ensure compliance with laws, as well as best practices.
However, that resolution continues to fail to be voted on since the Republican majority continues to vote it down during special committee meetings each month, which occur prior to the legislature’s normal monthly meetings.
“Despite widespread attention and headlines here in Rensselaer County and across the state and nation, the Republican Majority has failed to move this bipartisan resolution out of committee – it’s incomprehensible and quite frankly disappointing,” said Legislator Cindy Doran, D- Troy.
Doran said that she has been leading the charge for action on county policies and practices she finds are outdated and out of compliance with the law.
Last Tuesday, Doran, representing the Minority Legislators, said she attended an all- day roundtable sponsored by the Regional Chamber of Commerce entitled, ‘Ask the Experts: Preventing Workplace Harassment’. “The information provided at this conference was invaluable and could be implemented in the workplace right away,” Doran commented. “I will be briefing members of my caucus on the material; however, I find it disheartening that neither the GOP Majority Legislators nor newly elected County Executive bothered to attend.”
County officials said that they recently sent out an electronic message that was circulated to all county employees from the Human Resources Department requiring harassment in the workplace training by the County’s insurance carrier New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal (NYMIR). County officials said that the email stated that attendance, for all employees, at one of the seminars is mandatory, and that there are no exemptions under State and Federal mandates.
“While I was pleased to finally see some action toward legal compliance from the executive administration, I cannot understand why the GOP Majority Legislators continually fail to prioritize this matter by refusing to allow a resolution out of committee for a voice vote and discussion on the floor of the Legislature,” questioned Doran.
Chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature Mike Stammel said that the state recently adopted new antisexual harassment laws that the county is looking into and he also mentioned the mandatory training being required in the county now.
“New York State just adopted anti-sexual harassment laws that may override our existing policy. We will need to examine those regulations and their impact on the County’s policy. Also, the County, in partnership with our insurer, is holding mandatory sexual harassment training throughout the month of April. The legislators in the minority should attend the classes and question the trainers on the policy. If they have any concerns after the training, we would be glad to listen to them,” said Stammel, R-Rensselaer.
The resolution Doran spearheaded called for the County Legislature to establish a bipartisan committee to review all policies and procedures related to workplace violence, harassment, ethics and discrimination that would guarantee compliance with federal, state and local laws, definitions and
laws, definitions and best practices. The Committee would report back to the full legislature any findings and recommendations related to updating employee training and notice of practices for reporting and investigation harassment related issues.
“Both the Executive and Legislative branches in Rensselaer County need to speak with a sin- gle voice on this important issue to ensure a zero tolerance message and uniformity in practices and procedures,” insisted Doran.
Doran is the Democratic candidate for the 107th Assembly District in the April 24th Special Election versus Republican Rensselaer County Legislator Jake Ashby. This seat was vacated by former Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin when he was elected the Rensselaer County Executive this past November.