sexual harassment

#MeToo One Year Later: The Legislative Reaction

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On October 15, 2017, the #MeToo movement began in earnest following a tweet by actress Alyssa Milano. To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the #MeToo movement, the Orrick Employment Law and Litigation Blog will analyze the effects of the movement from the employment perspective. Part 1 reviewed the movement’s impact on sexual harassment claims in the workplace, Part 2 below focuses on the legislative reaction to the movement, and Part 3 discusses how employers have responded to #MeToo. READ MORE →

#MeToo One Year Later: A Viral Hashtag with Lasting Effects

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On October 15, 2017, the #MeToo movement began in earnest following a tweet by actress Alyssa Milano.  To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the #MeToo movement, the Orrick Employment Law and Litigation Blog will analyze the effects of the movement from the employment perspective.  Part 1 below looks at the movement’s impact on sexual harassment claims in the workplace, Part 2 focuses on the legislative reaction to the movement, and Part 3 discusses how employers have responded to #MeToo.

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California #TakesTheLead on Harassment Laws: What Does It Mean for Employers?

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As you’ve likely been monitoring, last month the California legislature passed several bills to Governor Brown for signature relating to sexual harassment. The hashtag #TakeTheLead emerged as a symbol reflecting California’s potential to become the state at the forefront of passing additional legislation characterized as increasing protection for women – and workers generally – in the face of the #MeToo movement. Late Sunday night, in the last moments before Governor Brown’s September 30 deadline, he vetoed the most contentious bill – AB 3080 – and signed into law many of the other pending bills. READ MORE →

Worth the Wait: NYS Clarifies Requirements for Sexual Harassment Prevention Programs

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One week before the October 9, 2018 deadline for compliance with the statewide sexual harassment prevention mandate (the “Mandate”), New York Labor Law § 201-g, New York State released revised model documents available on the state website: READ MORE →

NYS Advances its #MeToo Agenda: Draft Sexual Harassment Guidance Released

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Late last week and in anticipation of the October 9, 2018 deadline for compliance with the statewide sexual harassment prevention mandate (the “Mandate”), New York Labor Law § 201-g, New York State released a model policy, complaint form, and training module.  The materials are still in draft form and the State is accepting public comments through September 12, meaning these documents are subject to change.  The model policy, complaint form, training module, and FAQs are available here.  Several portions of the sample documents exceed the Mandate’s minimum requirements, and some directly conflict with the position of other agencies.

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#MeToo in Germany – Internal Investigation in Sexual Assault Cases

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Due to increased awareness and reporting triggered by the international #metoo discussion, besides taking preventive measures, it is crucial for companies with employees in Germany to know what internal actions to take in the event an employee reports an incident of sexual harassment at the workplace. READ MORE →

Employers, Victims, and Witnesses Rejoice: California Bars Sexual Harassers from Suing for Defamation

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In the wake of #MeToo, California has enacted a new statute aimed to protect victims, witnesses, and former employers from claims of defamation for making complaints or communicating information about alleged sexual harassers to others.  On July 9, 2018, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 2770. The bill amends Civil Code section 47, which makes certain communications “privileged,” meaning those communications cannot be the basis of a defamation claim.

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NYC Harassment Poster and Notice Released

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The New York City Commission on Human Rights has released the Fact Sheet and mandatory Notice referenced in the recent Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act (the “Act”).  Effective September 6, 2018, all employers in New York City must conspicuously post the Notice in the workplace and must distribute the Fact Sheet to all new employees upon hire.  Alternatively, the Fact Sheet may be incorporated in an employee handbook distributed to new employees upon hire. READ MORE →

EEOC Jumps Into Court and Says “#MeToo”

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Just days after reconvening its Select Task Force on Harassment with a public meeting titled “Transforming #MeToo Into Harassment-Free Workplaces,” the EEOC marched into seven different federal district courts, from Los Angeles, California to Mobile, Alabama and in between, and said “#MeToo.”

In a statement about the meeting, EEOC Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum remarked that the challenge for the EEOC “is to use this #MeToo moment well”, observing that the EEOC had “the attention and commitment of the range of different actors in society that we need … [to] channel that energy to create significant and sustainable change.”

So what does this change look like? And what should employers be mindful of as they try to achieve compliance and reduce litigation risk? READ MORE →

Maryland Says “Me Too” with Arbitration Limits and New Reporting Requirements

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On May 15, 2018, Maryland Governor Lawrence J. Hogan signed into law H.B. 1596, the Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2018 (the “Act”), expanding employee rights and remedies under state sexual harassment law and impacting Maryland employers in two ways. READ MORE →