In this installment of LaborSpeak, we discuss updates to two New York State and New York City laws concerning sexual harassment prevention and the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hiring and promotion. These are important changes that employers should keep on their radar.
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Transcript
New York State and New York City recently made updates to two laws which employers should keep on their radar. First, the New York State Department of Labor released final updates to its model sexual harassment prevention policy. New York employers must adopt the model policy or draft a written policy that equals or exceeds the minimum standards of the model policy. Some updates include a recognition that workplace harassment can take place remotely. An explanation that in New York, sexual harassment does not need to be severe or pervasive to be illegal.
Defining sexual harassment as a form of gender-based discrimination and explaining gender diversity. A bystander intervention section. Information for a confidential hotline for workplace harassment complaints and additional examples of sexual harassment. New York also updated its model training materials for required annual anti-harassment trainings for employees.
Employers should review their own sexual harassment policies to make sure they meet the minimum standards of the updated model policy. Second, New York City has adopted final regulations for a law regulating the use of AI in hiring and promotion. The law defines “an automated employment decision tool” or an AEDT, “as any computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues simplified output, including a score, classification or recommendation that is used to substantially assist or replace discretionary decision making.” The final regulations make clear that this law applies not just to what many think of as AI. However, the law only applies to decisions around hiring and promotions.
Other employment decisions such as for compensation, terminations, workforce planning, benefits or performance evaluations are not subject to these regulations even if an AEDT is used. New York City employers have until July 5th 2023, to determine whether they use an AEDT to make hiring and promotion decisions. And if so, they must commission an independent bias audit within one year of the tool’s use, publish a summary of the results, and notify applicants and employees of the tools used.
Feel free to contact our team if you have questions about complying with either of these laws or if you have any other labor and employment related questions.