Friday, May 14, 2021

14 May 2021: Cuomo Contradicts His Own Harassment Law

Cuomo contradicts his own harassment law

On 13 May 2021, a Governor Cuomo attempted to redefine the definition of sexual harassment in New York. Observers are noting his new definition contradicts the definition provided in a law he signed in 2019:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered a definition of sexual harassment on Thursday that contradicts a law he signed in 2019. “Harassment is not making someone feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo said at a press conference in the Bronx. “That is not harassment. If I just made you feel uncomfortable, that is not harassment, that is you feeling uncomfortable.”

In 2019, New York did away with the law that required discriminatory behavior to be “severe or pervasive” in order to be considered harassment. Many victims’ rights advocates considered that standard too burdensome, leaving out a lot of reprehensible conduct and making harassment difficult to prove. It was replaced with the standard that the behavior be more than “a petty slight or inconvenience,” a much lower bar to clear. It was a change that Cuomo celebrated and something he has taken credit for implementing.

“Sexual harassment also consists of any unwanted verbal or physical advances, sexually explicit derogatory statements or sexually discriminatory remarks made by someone which are offensive or objectionable to the recipient, which cause the recipient discomfort or humiliation, which interfere with the recipient’s job performance,” reads the model sexual harassment policy posted on the governor’s website. While not all uncomfortable situations are harassment, harassment is inherently uncomfortable for the victim.

This report also details the reaction of Charlotte Bennett, the second woman to come forward in accusing Governor Cuomo of sexual harassment, to Governor Cuomo's attempted redefinition of the New York state law's meaning:

Cuomo’s remarks drew sharp rebukes from his accusers and anti-sexual harassment advocates. “When @NYGovCuomo propositioned me for sex, he broke the law. It is very simple: the issue is about his actions, it is not about my feelings. He broke the law (you know, the one he signed). Apologies don’t fix that, and neither do denials,” Bennett wrote on Twitter. Bennett’s lawyer, Debra Katz, called Cuomo’s comments “jaw-dropping,” in a statement. “For someone who signed the law defining sexual harassment in New York State... Gov. Cuomo continues to show an alarming degree of ignorance about what constitutes sexual harassment,” Katz wrote.

As a quick bit of analysis, it is also perhaps the most self-serving, almost sociopathic way possible in which to redefine what constititutes sexual harassment by a powerful politician accused of it.

The criticism didn't stop there. The first woman to come forward to accuse Governor Cuomo of sexually harassing her, Lindsey Boylan, also weighed in, as did the interest group that successfully pushed for the 2019 change in New York's state law:

And Lindsey Boylan, the first former staffer to accuse Cuomo of harassment, reiterated her call for the governor to be removed from office. “The single most powerful man in New York is trying to play devil’s advocate for himself, contradicting a bill that he himself signed into law,” Boylan said in a statement.

The Sexual Harassment Working Group, which pushed for the state’s new harassment laws in 2019, also released a statement lambasting Cuomo’s comments, saying his defense would flop in court. “We accept his original confirmation of Charlotte Bennett’s account of him breaking the New York State Human Rights Law he signed, creating a hostile work environment and grooming her for sex,” the group wrote.

Have we mentioned Governor Cuomo is seeking better PR people and more legal help lately? Have we also mentioned that Governor Cuomo's position as the alleged perpetrator in several incidents of sexual harassment gives him inside information into what New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation of the alleged incidents is likely to find?

If nothing else, that would explain Mr. Cuomo's recent statements, as documented in the timeline:

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