{"id":109583,"date":"2019-10-25T12:20:41","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T16:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=109583"},"modified":"2019-10-25T12:20:41","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T16:20:41","slug":"news-from-the-office-of-assemblyman-al-stirpe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=109583","title":{"rendered":"News from the office of Assemblyman Al Stirpe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Assemblyman Al Stirpe<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Victims of workplace harassment and discrimination\ndeserve justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For far too long, New Yorkers who experienced discrimination\nand sexual harassment at work had little or no recourse. Many simply never\nreported the harassment for fear of being labeled a \u201cproblem\u201d or fear of\nretaliation by the perpetrator or their employer. This type of abuse can cause\nlasting trauma and ruin careers, and the threat of losing economic independence\neffectively silenced countless victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better combat these societal scourges, the Assembly\nformed a workgroup to develop recommendations and new legislation. The\nLegislature also held joint hearings earlier this year to examine cases of\nharassment and workplace discrimination. We heard from victims themselves about\nthe horrors they experienced and their lack of support through these terrible\nincidents. Their experiences were used as a guideline for creating new\nlegislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perpetrators of workplace harassment and discrimination should\nbe held responsible for their actions, but this wasn\u2019t always the case. Under\nprevious law, the harassment had to be \u201csevere or pervasive\u201d to be legally\nactionable. But a law I helped pass that went into effect this month eliminates\nthis unfair standard and defines harassment as an unlawful discriminatory\npractice when it subjects an individual to inferior terms, conditions or\nprivileges of employment due to age, race, creed, color, national origin,\ndisability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. The law now\nalso protects from discrimination due to military status, predisposing genetic\ncharacteristics, familial status, marital status, domestic violence status or\nbecause an individual filed a complaint (Ch. 160 of 2019). Now victims of these\ndespicable acts are better able to seek the justice they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the law applies to all employers across New\nYork, extending protections to non-employees such as contractors, vendors,\nconsultants and domestic workers. It also prohibits mandatory arbitration\nclauses and non-disparagement provisions in employment contracts to empower\nvictims and ensure their voices aren\u2019t silenced by unfair contracts. Last\nyear\u2019s state budget also established a model policy and model training program\nto change our work culture from the inside-out and prevent these despicable\nacts from happening in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sexual harassment and discrimination have no place in New\nYork State, and I\u2019ll always fight to ensure New Yorkers feel safe and secure,\nwhether at home, at school or in the workplace. And I\u2019ll continue to stand with\nvictims because no one should have to face bigotry and harassment on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have questions about this or any other community\nissue, don\u2019t hesitate to contact my office at 315.452.1115 or StirpeA@nyassembly.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stirpe hosts seminar on new rights for survivors of\nchildhood sexual abuse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) held a seminar on Thursday,\nOct. 24, to inform residents about the new opportunities available for\nsurvivors of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice under the Child Victims\nAct. The event, called \u201cCourageous Conversations, Critical Choices: What New\nYork\u2019s Child Victims Act Means for Syracuse,\u201d was held in partnership with the\nZero Abuse Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbuse of any kind against a child is sickening and\nunforgivable, and survivors of this heinous crime often carry this trauma with\nthem for the rest of their lives,\u201d Stirpe said. \u201cWhile we unfortunately can\u2019t\nerase the past, we can ensure every survivor is heard when they\u2019re ready to\ntell their story and empower them to confront their abusers on their own terms.\nBy starting the conversation and making sure residents are aware of the new\nrights under the Child Victims Act, we can help more victims of childhood\nsexual abuse get the justice they deserve and begin healing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stirpe helped pass the Child Victims Act earlier this year\nto allow more victims of childhood sexual abuse to face their abusers in a\ncourt of law (Ch. 11 of 2019). The law, which is now in effect, extends the\ncivil and criminal statutes of limitations, as well as institutes a one-year\n\u201clook-back window\u201d during which past victims can seek justice in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seminar was led by child welfare advocates, clinicians\nand sexual abuse prevention experts and provided information to residents about\nthe new rights survivors of childhood sexual abuse have under the Child Victims\nAct. Stirpe co-hosted the event with the Zero Abuse Project, a nonprofit\ndedicated to stopping childhood sexual abuse and providing support to survivors\nand their families. Although these conversations can be difficult, they\u2019re\nabsolutely vital and show survivors that we stand with them and will support\nthem every step of the way, noted Stirpe. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victims of workplace harassment and discrimination deserve justice For far too long, New Yorkers who experienced discrimination and sexual harassment at work had little or no recourse. Many simply never reported the harassment for fear of being labeled a \u201cproblem\u201d or fear of retaliation by the perpetrator or their employer. This type of abuse can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23810,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellbeing","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}