City Laws

Chapter 36: Equal Employment Practices Commission

Section 830. [Equal employment practices commission.]

a. There shall be an equal employment practices commission which shall review, evaluate and monitor the employment procedures, practices and programs of any city agency and the department of citywide administrative services to maintain an effective affirmative employment program of equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by or who seek employment with city agencies.

b. The commission shall consist of five members who, shall be compensated on a per diem basis. The mayor and the council shall each appoint two members. In addition, the mayor and the speaker of the council shall appoint a fifth member to serve as the chair of the commission for a term of four years.

c. A vacancy in the commission shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the commission and three members thereof shall constitute a quorum.

d. Members shall be appointed for four-year terms except that of the members first appointed, one of those appointed by the mayor and one of those appointed by the council shall serve for terms expiring on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-two, one of those appointed by the mayor and one of those appointed by the council shall serve for terms expiring on the thirtieth day of June nineteen hundred ninety-five; and the chair shall serve for a term expiring on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-four.

e. The commission may, within the appropriations available therefor, appoint an executive director and such deputies, assistants, and other employees as may be needed for the performance of the duties prescribed herein.

f. The commission may meet as necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter provided that the commission shall meet at least once every eight weeks.

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 1996/059.

Section 831. Duties and powers of the New York city equal employment practices commission.

a. The commission: (i) shall monitor the employment policies, programs and practices of each city, county, borough or other office, administration, board, department, division, commission, bureau, corporation, authority, or other agency of government, where the majority of the board members of such agency are appointed by the mayor or serve by virtue of being city officers or the expenses of which are paid in whole or in part from the city treasury, including the board of education, city and community colleges, the financial services corporation, the health and hospital corporation, the public development corporation, and the city housing authority; and (ii) monitor the coordination and implementation of any city affirmative employment program of equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by or who seek employment with city agencies, including the activities of the department of citywide administrative services, and the civil service commission, pursuant to chapter thirty-five, and any other agency designated by the mayor to assist in the implementation or coordination of such efforts, and all city agencies required by section eight hundred fifteen to establish agency programs

b. The commission may request and shall receive from any city agency such information, other than information which is required by law to be kept confidential or which is privileged as attorney-client communications, attorney work products or material prepared for litigation, and such assistance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

c. The commission shall communicate to the commission on human rights any information regarding suspected or alleged violations of chapter one of title eight of the administrative code.

d. The commission shall have the following powers and duties:

1. to review the uniform standards, procedures, and programs of the department of citywide administrative services pursuant to paragraphs twelve and fourteen of subdivision a of section eight hundred fourteen, and to review the plans adopted by city agencies in accordance with the provisions of paragraph nineteen of subdivision a of section eight hundred fifteen, and to provide any such agency or the department of citywide administrative services with such comments and suggestions as the commission deems necessary and appropriate;

2. to recommend to the department of citywide administrative services, all city agencies, or any one or more particular agencies, procedures, approaches, measures, standards and programs to be utilized by such agencies in their efforts to ensure a fair and effective affirmative employment program of equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by or seek employment with city agencies;

3. to recommend to any city agency actions which such agency should consider including in its next annual plan as required by paragraph nineteen of subdivision a of section eight hundred fifteen;

4. to advise and, if requested, assist city agencies in their efforts to increase employment of minority group members and women who are employed by or who seek employment with city agencies;

5. to audit and evaluate the employment practices and procedures of each city agency and their efforts to ensure fair and effective equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women at least once every four years and whenever requested by the civil service commission or the human rights commission or whenever otherwise deemed necessary by this commission; 6. to make such policy, legislative and budgetary recommendations to the mayor, council, the department of citywide administrative services or any city agency as the commission deems necessary to ensure equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women;

7. to publish by the fifteenth of February of each year a report to the mayor and the council on the activities of the commission and the effectiveness of each city agency's affirmative employment efforts and the efforts by the department of citywide administrative services to ensure equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by or seek to be employed by city agencies;

8. to establish appropriate advisory committees;

9. to serve with such other agencies or officials as shall be designated by the mayor as the city liaison to federal, state and local agencies responsible for compliance with equal employment opportunity for minority group members and women who are employed by or who seek to be employed by city agencies; and

10. to take such other actions as are appropriate to effectuate the provisions and purposes of this chapter.

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 1996/059.

Section 832. Compliance procedures.

a. The commission shall conduct such study or investigations and hold such hearings as may be necessary to determine whether agencies are in compliance with the equal employment opportunity requirements of this chapter and chapter thirty-five.

b. For the purpose of ascertaining facts in connection with any study or investigation authorized by this chapter, the commission shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses, to administer oaths and to examine such persons as they may deem necessary. The commission or any agent or employee thereof duly designated in writing by them for such purposes may administer oaths or affirmations, examine witnesses in public or private hearing, receive evidence and preside at or conduct any such study or investigation.

c. If the commission makes a preliminary determination pursuant to subdivision d of section eight hundred thirty-one, that any plan, program, procedure, approach, measures or standard adopted or utilized by any city agency or the department of citywide administrative services does not provide equal employment opportunity; and/or if the commission makes a preliminary determination pursuant to this chapter and chapter thirty-five, that an agency has not provided equal employment opportunity, the commission shall notify the agency in writing of this determination and provide an opportunity for the agency to respond. If the commission, after consideration of any such response and after consulting with the agency, concludes that the corrective actions, if any, taken or planned by the agency are not sufficient to correct the non-compliance identified in the preliminary determination, it should make a final determination in writing, including such recommended corrective action as the commission may deem appropriate. The agency shall within thirty days thereafter respond to the commission on any corrective action it intends to make and shall make monthly reports to such commission on the progress of such corrective action. If the commission, after a period not to exceed six months, determines that the agency has not taken appropriate and effective corrective action, the commission shall notify the agency in writing of this determination and the commission may thereafter publish a report and recommend to the mayor whatever appropriate corrective action the commission deems necessary to ensure compliance with equal employment opportunity pursuant to the requirements of this chapter and chapter thirty-five. Within thirty days of such determination the agency shall submit a written response to the commission and the mayor. The mayor after reviewing the commission's findings and the agency's response, if any, shall order and publish such action as he or she deems appropriate.

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 1996/059.

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NYC Charter

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LOCAL LAWS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK FOR THE YEAR 2019

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No. 13
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Introduced by Council Members Eugene, Kallos, Rosenthal, Chin, Cumbo and Levin.

A LOCAL LAW

In relation to requiring the equal employment practices commission to analyze and report annually on citywide racial and ethnic classification underutilization

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. City agency racial and ethnic underutilization assessment and reporting.
a. In furtherance of local, state and federal equal employment requirements and objectives, the equal employment practices commission shall conduct a citywide analysis of racial and ethnic classification underutilization and submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and to make available to the public, a report containing its findings and recommendations.
b. Data collection. The commission shall obtain from the office of data analytics the report it shall publish pursuant to subchapter 7 of chapter 1 of title 3 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as well as directly from city agencies, including the department of citywide administrative services, any information necessary to comply with the assessment and reporting requirements of this section, other than information that is required by law to be kept confidential, or is privileged as attorney-client communications, attorney work product or material prepared for litigation.
c. Reporting. The commission shall issue a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council no later than February 15, 2021, and no later than February 15 annually thereafter, and shall make such report available to the public. Such report shall include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) information identifying the racial and ethnic groups underutilized, disaggregated by agency, and aggregate, citywide results. If a racial or ethnic category to be reported with respect to a job category in an agency contains between 0 and 5 individuals, or contains an amount that would allow another category that contains between 0 and 5 individuals to be deduced, the number shall be replaced with a symbol, or shall be subject to some other form of data suppression;
(2) information regarding previously issued correction action plans or determinations of non-compliance related to underutilization;
(3) recommendations for correcting underutilization, disaggregated by agency and by underutilized group;
(4) recommendations regarding how the collection of racial and ethnic classification data of city employees, based on a review of the city’s racial and ethnic classification categories and an assessment of whether such categories accurately capture the racial and ethnic composition of the city’s government workforce, including a review of employee response rates to racial and ethnic classification questions;
(5) recommendations for strengthening agency affirmative employment plan oversight and enforcement, including funding recommendations; and
(6) recommendations for citywide corrective actions, including legislative, regulatory and budgetary changes, to address:
(a) chronic or systemic underutilization;
(b) reach citywide affirmative employment objectives; and
(c) increase diversity in the recruitment, selection, retention and promotion of city employees.
d. All city agencies shall cooperate with the commission and provide information and assistance as requested; provided, however, no information that is otherwise required to be provided pursuant to this section shall be disclosed in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy of employee information.
§ 2. This local law takes effect on the same date as a local law amending the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to reporting of pay and employment equity data, as proposed in introduction number 633-A for the year 2018, takes effect, and is deemed repealed ten years after it becomes law.

THE CITY OF NEW YORK, OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK, s.s.:
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of a local law of The City of New York, passed by the Council on December 11, 2018 and returned unsigned by the Mayor on January 11, 2019.
MICHAEL M. McSWEENEY, City Clerk, Clerk of the Council.

CERTIFICATION OF CORPORATION COUNSEL
I hereby certify that the form of the enclosed local law (Local Law No. 13 of 2019, Council Int. No. 755-A of 2018) to be filed with the Secretary of State contains the correct text of the local law passed by the New York City Council, presented to the Mayor and neither approved nor disapproved within thirty days thereafter.
STEVEN LOUIS, Acting Corporation Counsel.

PDF Full Tex => NYC Local Law of 13 - 2019

The New York City Human Rights Law (City Human Rights Law) prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on age, alienage or citizenship status, color, disability, gender (including sexual harassment), gender identity, marital or partnership status, national origin, pregnancy and lactation accommodations, race, religion, creed, sexual orientation, and status as a veteran or active military service member.

In addition, the City Human Rights Law affords additional protections against discrimination in employment based on arrest or conviction record, caregiver status, credit history, unemployment status, sexual and reproductive health decisions, salary history, and status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, and sex offenses. In housing, the City Human Rights Law protects against discrimination based on lawful occupation, lawful source of income, the presence of children, and status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, and sex offenses. The City Human Rights Law also prohibits retaliation for opposing an unlawful discriminatory practice, filing a charge or complaint of discrimination with an employer or any agency, or testifying, assisting, or participating in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing related to unlawful discrimination.

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The New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is the municipal entity charged with enforcing the City Human Rights Law. Its Law Enforcement Bureau is responsible for receiving, investigating, and prosecuting individual complaints alleging violations of the City Human Rights Law. The CCHR may also initiate its own investigations of prejudice or patterns of discrimination against a person or group of persons.

If you believe that you have experienced unlawful discrimination in violation of the City Human Rights Law, you have the right to file a claim with the CCHR. The City Human Rights Law permits a complaint to be filed with the CCHR within one (1) year of the occurrence of the discriminatory action (or three (3) years for gender-based harassment).

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New York City Commission on Human Rights

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New York, NY 10007

718-722-3131

Visit the New York City Commission on Human Rights website

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The City of New York’s 2021 Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Equal Employment Qpportunity Policy (nyc.gov)

New York City is ruled by city, state, and federal equal employment laws.

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