AGENCY TESTIMONY
Overview of NYC Human Rights Law employment protections
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128 sec
The NYC Human Rights Law provides extensive protections against workplace discrimination and harassment across over 25 protected categories. The law applies to employers with 4 or more employees or 1 or more domestic workers.
- Discrimination based on caregiver status has been illegal since 2016.
- The law requires reasonable accommodations for disability, pregnancy, religion, and domestic violence victim status.
- Recent amendments have expanded employment protections, with 7 new provisions taking effect or being signed into law since fiscal year 2022.
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
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The New York City Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation.
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I will focus today on the employment protections.
Hillary Scrivani
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As some of you have already referenced
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
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in your employment protections.
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As some of you have already referenced in your opening remarks, the human rights
Hillary Scrivani
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law codifies that employees in New
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
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York City have a right to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment in over 25 protected categories.
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The law applies to employers with 4 or more employees, The law applies to employers with 4 or more employees or 1 or more domestic worker.
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Notable for today's hearing, it has been illegal to discriminate on the basis of caregiver status in employment since 2016.
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Workers have frequently faced a caregiver penalty that can include losing pay, losing hours, or losing a job.
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These consequences are amplified for women identifying caregivers, particularly women of color as well as low wage workers.
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In order to foster inclusive workplaces, the human rights law already requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations on the basis of disability, pregnancy and related conditions, religion, and status as a victim of domestic violence.
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Each of these categories are defined in separate provisions of the law.
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And a request for a reasonable accommodation triggers the obligation of an employer to engage in a cooperative dialogue to determine if there's an accommodation that allows an employee to fulfill the essential requisites of their job.
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If an employer can demonstrate an undue hardship, an accommodation does not need to be granted.
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Since the start of fiscal year 20 2, 7 amendments to the human rights law employment provisions have either taken effect or been signed into law.
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The commission is committed to ensuring that the human rights law enables equitable access to job opportunities and that New Yorkers can enjoy workplaces free from discrimination.
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The aim of the law is for employers to focus on the skill set of an applicant which cultivates dynamic and inclusive workplaces because, as we have all seen and many of us have experienced, hiring practices that may seem neutral on their face can perpetuate inequity and lead to the exclusion of qualified candidates.
