Good News For The Working Women Of NY!

Let’s get to know the laws that might actually make a difference in our lives

Perhaps you think Women’s Equality was an issue for 1963. And yes, that year, the government passed important legislation on the issue of Pay Equity. But as we keep learning, from sources as disparate as Lilly Ledbetter and Jennifer Lawrence, professional women, and women of color especially, continue to face specific challenges.

Like, for example, unvarnished sexism from their political opponents:

“The gal that’s running against me is a 30-year-old, you know, mom, mother of two infants,” said Patton, a 62-year-old Republican from Strongsville, in a recent radio interview. “And I don’t know if anybody explained to her we’ve got to spend three nights a week in Columbus. So, how does that work out for you? I waited until I was 48 and my kids were raised, and at least adults, before we took the opportunity to try.”

Patton referred to Herold as a “young gal” and, while talking about his role in bringing additional school funding to his area, said, “I want to tell her, ‘Hey Sweetie, I just got 27 percent of the pie in just my district, which is nine times what should have been done.’”

Herold, whose kids are 1 and 3, clapped back on substance and also pointed out, “Only one man in my life is allowed to call me, ‘Sweetie.’”

The troglodytes you will always have with you. But the day-to-day indignities of the job in New York state, at least — well, some of those will get better now, according to Brokelyn:

the New York Women’s Equality Act took effect Jan. 19, and it has a whole bunch of new protections for women in the workplace. It amends the New York State Human Rights Laws with new language that makes it much harder for employers to wiggle out of pay disparity and sexual harassment lawsuits, and also increases the rights of pregnant employees.

New rights for ladies include the right not be sexually harassed on the job, regardless of the size of a woman’s, er, workplace.

Under the old rule in New York, if a company employed less than four employees in New York, a woman couldn’t sue her boss for sexually harassing her at work. Which is ridiculous, since 60 percent of businesses in New York have less than four employees.

The new rule makes it so that a sexual harassment lawsuit can be brought against an employer of any size

Or, as the Observer pithily explains, “As of this week, small businesses can’t sexually harass their employees anymore. Last week they could. This week, no.”

Another important thing we can do now with impunity that we couldn’t before: discuss our wages with our co-workers. In my first job after college, an HR rep talked money stuff with me and then, as I was heading out the door, added darkly, “Now, you’re not going to talk about any of this with the other employees, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said, in the good girl voice I always use to tell people what they want to hear. You can count on me, sir!

“Great,” he said.

Three steps out of his office, I realized how fucked up that exchange was. It’s a control tactic: intimidate the peons; keep them separate and eyeing each other suspiciously, wondering but never knowing if they’re getting a raw deal. And the talent agency I worked for was hardly alone in using it to its advantage. Companies nationwide do this, even though it puts them in contravention of the 1934 National Labor Relations Act.

Megan Reynolds wrote about this for us in 2014:

Speculating about why Jason in marketing makes $10K more a year than Alicia, when she does the same job, but better, is an effective way to kill time when you’re waiting your turn at the microwave, or printing out something longer than five pages. It’s also totally and completely legal, despite what your office manager tells you.

Still, something that’s “completely legal” can still piss off your superiors and possibly get you fired. Or at least, in New York, it could until now. From the Observer again:

When employees discuss wages here’s what happens: they find out the women are paid less, the women bring a lawsuit, but the employer says you broke this clause and you admit you discussed it. And then you get fired. So then they argue this entire discrimination lawsuit should be thrown out because it is just you being upset that you got fired.

In slightly dryer, more formal language, from the Governor’s office:

The bill eliminates a loophole in the current law that allows employers to prohibit employees from discussing their salaries under threat of termination or suspension. Specifically, the bill would allow employees to discuss their wages with each other. Further, the bill increases the amount of damages available to an employee if an employer willfully violates the law.

Other protections we now enjoy, thanks to this new law:

• Our bosses are not allowed to fire us, refuse to hire us, or refuse us promotions simply because we have kids.
• Our bosses are not allowed to refuse us “reasonable accommodations” while we’re pregnant. Like, you know, a chair to sit down in.

You hear that low creaking sound? That’s the long arc of the universe bending ever so slightly toward justice.

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