United States

Section 489-LLLL Participation of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE), permits any city with a population of at least one million to establish programs that promote the use of minority- and women-owned business enterprises in construction projects connected to local property tax benefits. A city may adopt local laws or ordinances that require developers receiving tax exemptions, abatements, or deferrals to include certified MWBEs in construction or related project work.

The Domestic Violence Prevention Act created the statewide framework for identifying, assisting, and protecting victims of domestic violence in New York. It defines who is considered a victim and requires local social services districts to make both residential and non-residential services available. These services include emergency shelters, counseling, advocacy, access to information, referrals, and community outreach.

New York State requires equal pay for “substantially similar work,” a standard that is broader than the federal “equal work” requirement. Pay differentials must be tied to job-related, non-discriminatory factors. The laws also restrict employers from seeking or relying on salary history and require written pay notices. The measures target gender-based wage gaps and strengthen enforcement tools for employees.

Under the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, employers in New York State must provide break time and a private, shielded space for employees to express breast milk. Amendments require written policies, disclosure to new hires, and minimum standards for lactation spaces, including privacy and access to seating and electricity. The statute safeguards lactating workers from discrimination and promotes retention after childbirth.

The New York State Paid Family Leave Law establishes a statewide program that guarantees paid, employment-protected leave for most private-sector employees in New York State. Enacted in 2016, and phased in beginning January 1, 2018, the law entitles eligible workers to take employment leave to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to support a loved one during a qualifying military deployment. Benefits increase over time, reaching twelve weeks of leave at a wage-replacement rate of sixty-seven percent by 2021.

NYS Penal Law § 485.05 defined when a criminal offense qualifies as a hate crime in New York State. A crime becomes a hate crime if the person either selects the victim based on a belief or perception regarding the victim’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation, or if the offense is committed in whole or substantial part because of such a belief or perception.

The plaintiff alleged that she was raped several times by a police officer who had been assigned to help her deal with her son’s behavioral issues.  The plaintiff reported the rapes to municipal mental health and domestic abuse entities, and she alleged that these entities violated their statutory duty to report these incidents or take further action.

The defendant was convicted of rape and sexual abuse of his minor daughter and appealed, challenging the trial court’s refusal to order the victim to undergo a mental health examination and the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction.  The defendant’s daughter, who was 11 years old, reported to her mother that defendant had sex with her on two occasions when she was seven and eight years old.

The Illinois Human Rights Commission (HRC) filed a suit against Northtown Ford alleging discrimination against an employee who had been terminated with regard to sick leave benefits and salary, sex discrimination for reduction in salary, and retaliation. The administrative law judge entered a judgment in favor of the employee for salary claims and sick leave benefits, and the HRC affirmed. The Court of Appeals decided that the employee was allowed to amend the complaint because the amended claim was reasonably related to the original claim.

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) is a U.S. Supreme Court case holding that under the Fourteenth Amendment states must both license marriages between two people of the same sex and recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states.