Following the recent announcement by the U.S. Justice Department on Friday, Jan. 26, that it had settled a legal dispute with NY State’s executive chamber (governor’s office) to resolve the justice department’s claims that the executive chamber, under former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, had engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual harassment and retaliation, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the former governor is now reportedly asking U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to look into what he called the “conflicted” agreement over allegations of sexual harassment.

The New York City Law Journal reported on Feb. 7 that Cuomo’s counsel, Theresa Trzaskoma of Sher Tremonte and Rita Glavin, wrote that U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, who signed the agreement, and Gov. Kathy Hochul, on behalf of the state’s Executive Chamber, were each conflicted in their handling of the investigation.

 

According to federal officials, the recent settlement reiterated reforms already carried out by Hochul as well as additional reforms aimed at preventing sexual harassment and retaliation in the NYS executive chamber going forward. Title VII is a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Title VII also forbids employers from retaliating against current and former employees for complaining about workplace discrimination or otherwise asserting their Title VII rights.

 

In the context of the announcement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice department’s civil rights division, said,  “Executive Chamber employees deserve to work without fear of sexual harassment and harsh reprisal when they oppose that harassment. The conduct in the Executive Chamber under the former governor, the state’s most powerful elected official, was especially egregious because of the stark power differential involved and the victims’ lack of avenues to report and redress harassment.”

 

Clarke added, “With this settlement agreement, the Executive Chamber under Governor Hochul is undertaking additional actions that will address system failures of the past while helping prevent the recurrence of systemic sexual harassment and retaliation in the future.”

 

Justice department officials said the federal investigation, conducted jointly by the civil rights division of the Justice department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, found that NYS Executive Chamber under the former governor subjected female employees to a sexually hostile work environment; secondly, tolerated that environment and failed to correct the problem on an agency-wide basis, and thirdly, retaliated against employees who spoke out about the harassment.

 

As reported previously by Norwood News, Cuomo and, according to the Justice department many “complicit senior staff,” resigned from office, leaving the executive chamber on Aug. 24, 2021, amid a sexual harassment scandal.

 

Since the federal investigation began in August 2021, Justice department officials said the NYS executive chamber has implemented changes to its policies and practices intended to prevent and address the alleged misconduct. The settlement reiterates these efforts and calls for additional reforms, including:

• expanding the executive chamber’s Human Resources Department;
• creating new policies and procedures for the external reporting, investigation and resolution of complaints involving high-level executive chamber employees, including the governor;
• developing and implementing robust training and anti-retaliation programs and
• creating mechanisms to assess the reforms’ effectiveness on a systemic basis.

 

Peace also commented on the announcement, saying, “We appreciate the Governor’s stated determination to make sure that sexual harassment does not recur at the highest level of New York State government.  We share that goal and enter into this agreement to advance our common goal of creating clear, comprehensive and, most importantly, enduring policies preventing sexual harassment in the Executive Chamber.”

Justice department officials said the enforcement of Title VII and other federal laws against employment discrimination was a top priority. They said the settlement is part of the employment litigation section of the civil rights division of the justice department, a program entitled, “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Initiative.” They said this program seeks to eradicate sexual harassment in state and local government workplaces, and focuses on litigation, outreach and developing effective remedial measures to address and prevent sex discrimination and harassment.

 

More information about the work of the Civil Rights Division, the division’s Employment Litigation Section and civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is available at www.justice.gov/crt, www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section and www.justice.gov/usao-edny/civil-rights.

 

As reported, Cuomo, who is reportedly eyeing a run for Mayor of New York City made his second public appearance on March 17, 2022 since he escaped being hit with sex crime charges by State prosecutors. Cuomo addressed a group of Bronx supporters alongside former District 18 city councilman, Rev. Ruben Díaz Sr., during a regular meeting of The New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, a group founded by Díaz. Read the full story here. Cuomo repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the context of the sexual harassment allegations brought against him.