ALBANY- Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to prohibit employers from disciplining employees who opt not to participate in meetings about the employer’s political or religious views. The new law is an expansion of employee protections of speech and conscience.
Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO supported the new legislation.
“We applaud Governor Hochul for signing into law three critical pieces of legislation that ensure New York State leads the way when it comes to protecting workers’ rights,” said Cilento. “Among the new laws is legislation that addresses the long history of employers using so-called ‘captive audience’ meetings to force their views on personal decisions related to religion, health care, politics, or joining civic or fraternal organizations or labor unions. This new law protects workers by preventing employers from taking adverse actions against their employees for refusing to participate in such meetings.”
“My administration is committed to making our state the most worker-friendly state in the nation, and I thank the bill sponsors for their partnership in our mission to establish the strongest and most robust protections right here in New York,” said Hochul.
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