Category: Statutes, Rules, & Regs

New York Issues Final Model Sexual Harassment Policy and Training Guidelines – Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC

By: Subhash Viswanathan

On October 1, the New York State Division of Human Rights issued its final model sexual harassment policy and training guidelines to assist employers in complying with the new sexual harassment legislation that will become effective October 9, 2018.  One piece of good news for employers is that the Division’s final training guidelines no longer require that employers train all employees by January 1, 2019, as the Division initially proposed.  Instead, according to the FAQs, employers will have until October 9, 2019 — a full 12 months from the effective date of the legislation — to complete the training for all employees
 

DiNapoli: Calls to Investigate Violations of Do Not Call Law Going Unanswered

Do Not Call registry complaints by New York state residents have more than doubled since 2014 to more than 450,000 annually, but only two cases were referred for enforcement action in 2016 and 2017 combined, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
 

Labor Class Civil Service Employees Afforded Job Protection–BS&K News & Insights

By: Craig L. Olivo

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On September 7, 2018, Governor Cuomo signed legislation that amended Civil Service Law Section 75. Pursuant to the amendments, Section 75 now extends hearing rights (i.e., the right to written disciplinary charges and a hearing before imposition of a reprimand, fine, suspension without pay, demotion or termination) to “Labor Class” employees after five years of continuous service.
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Raise the Age – OJI

The Office for Justice Initiatives is committed to developing a court model that produces sustained positive outcomes for New York’s justice system involved youth. The OJI, in collaboration with state and local agencies, non-profit and child-serving organizations, and other stakeholders will promote necessary reforms and develop new strategies to establish a more efficient, and fair juvenile justice system.

On April 10, 2017, New York State raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years of age, ensuring that young people in New York who commit non-violent crimes receive the intervention and evidence-based treatment they need. By October 2019, New York will no longer automatically prosecute 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.

The OJI will oversee the Unified Court System workgroup to implement legislation raising the age of criminal responsibility in New York through its full enactment in 2020.

Read More…

New York State’s Raise the Age website

Raise the Age Legislation

Application to Seal a Criminal Conviction after 10 years

New NY law protects animals when owners are evicted–Democrat & Chronicle

Chad Arnold, Albany Bureau

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ALBANY – A bill seeking to protect pets in the event their owners are evicted from their homes has been signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The new law, which took effect immediately, requires officers executing an eviction warrant to search the property for animals and coordinate their safe removal with the person being evicted or local animal protection services before locking up the property.

The bill was introduced in January following the eviction of a Brooklyn family whose pit bull was locked in a small cage inside the residence with no access to food or water, according to a sponsor’s memo attached to the bill.

The dog remained locked in the cage for two days until the family gained a court order to enter the apartment and retrieve the two-year-old rescue pet.

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A Law in Austria That Would Have Forced Jews and Muslims to Register for Meat | Sherry F. Colb | Verdict | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia

The far-right Freedom Party in Austria recently proposed a controversial law. The law would have regulated the consumption of Kosher and Halal meat in Lower Austria, one of nine states in the country of Austria. The proposed law, on its face, targeted religious Jews and Muslims. Only they, by contrast to all other meat consumers, would have had to register for the privilege, receive a limited quantity of their desired commodity, and prove that they lived in Lower Austria. Austria has reportedly rejected the proposed law. In this column, I will consider why “even” a vegan like myself regards the introduction of such a legal regime as an alarming development.
 
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State Environmental Quality Review Act – Adopted Amendments 2018 – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announces the adoption of revisions to the regulations that implement the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) to streamline the SEQR process without sacrificing meaningful environmental review.

Among other changes, DEC has adopted amendments to the Type I and Type II lists of actions, as well as the scoping and acceptance procedures for draft environmental impact statements. DEC has also modernized the regulations related to web publication of documents. These changes are the first major amendments to the SEQR regulations that DEC since 1996.

DEC initially noticed its proposal along with the availability of a combined Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement and SAPA statement in the February 8, 2017 editions of both the State Register and Environmental Notice Bulletin. The comment period continued through May 19, 2017. In response to the many comments received, DEC modified the proposal and noticed a revised proposal along with the availability of a Revised Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement in the April 4, 2018 editions of both the State Register and Environmental Notice Bulletin. The comment period continued through May 11, 2018, during which the Department received approximately 31 comments in response to the revised proposal. Comments were assessed and responded to in the FGEIS which the Department accepted on June 13, 2018. On June 27, 2018, DEC issued a Findings Statement and formally adopted the rule, which will become effective on January 1, 2019.

The Final Express Terms of the revisions, along with the Findings Statement, FGEIS and other key regulatory documents leading up to the FGEIS may be downloaded from the links….

The Trump Administration Quietly Defunded Legal Services For Trafficking Victims–Huffington Post

Jenavieve Hatch

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The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime sets federal funding aside to assist crime victims, including the victims of human trafficking. Up until this month, in addition to services like health care, education and employment, the funds also covered legal representation ― which human trafficking victims have used to get their criminal records expunged or dismissed. More than 90 percent of human trafficking victims are arrested for crimes like prostitution, truancy or drug possession when they are being trafficked.

But the most recent iteration of the Office for Victims of Crime’s budget, released on June 25, added new language:

“OVC funding may not be used for criminal defense services,” it reads. “Direct representation on vacatur or expungement matters through court filings or through other litigation services, is NOT an allowable cost under this cooperative agreement or with FY 2018 funds.”

Assistance in paying for legal aid is essential to victims’ recovery process, wrote more than 100 trafficking survivors in a letter to the OVC on Friday.

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