In 2018, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into regulation a invoice requiring all employers within the state to supply annual coaching to staff on office harassment points.
However an October 2019 “attestation” kind, which claims the governor underwent such coaching himself, contains the handwritten title “Andrew Cuomo” and a scrawled signature at backside – each written by an aide, not Cuomo, a report says.
The usage of an aide to signal the shape on the governor’s behalf raised the query of whether or not Cuomo actually participated within the harassment coaching program, The Journal Information of New York state’s Decrease Hudson Valley area reported.
The newspaper’s report emerged following a New York Put up story this week claiming Cuomo had skipped work Wednesday to work on a technique for salvaging his political profession, and coincided with an Albany (N.Y.) Occasions Union story on Friday, claiming that Cuomo’s most trusted advisers, previous and current, have labored on plans for Cuomo to combat off the sexual harassment allegations in opposition to him.
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Some former aides, nonetheless, have been surprised by Cuomo’s refusal to step apart, Politico reported.
The aide who signed the coaching kind for Cuomo was recognized as Stephanie Benton in New York state Legal professional Normal Letitia James’ lately launched 165-page report, which accuses Cuomo of sexually harassing 11 ladies.
Cuomo, who faces a torrent of calls to resign – in addition to pledges from many New York lawmakers that they may impeach the Democrat if he doesn’t – has denied the allegations.
‘She was the one’
“(In) her sworn testimony, Ms. Benton admitted that she was the one who signed the 2019 sexual harassment coaching attestation kind for the Governor, after they each claimed the Governor reviewed the coaching materials,” James’ report says, based on The Journal Information.
“Ms. Benton admitted that she was the one who signed the 2019 sexual harassment coaching attestation kind for the Governor, after they each claimed the Governor reviewed the coaching materials.”
On July 28, the attestation kind, and 17 pages of harassment coaching materials, had been offered to the newspaper after USA At this time Community New York, which incorporates The Journal Information, requested the paperwork from the state in March, the newspaper reported.
The coaching materials describes examples of office conduct that’s deemed inappropriate, the newspaper’s report mentioned.
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The Journal Information notes that simply a number of days after Cuomo purportedly reviewed the coaching paperwork, they grew to become outdated as a result of a brand new regulation took impact Oct. 11, 2019, that lowered the usual for proving sexual harassment. Now not would the conduct have to be “extreme or pervasive” with the intention to be unlawful, the report mentioned.
The brand new, decrease customary was signed into regulation by Cuomo previous to the date he purportedly underwent coaching, based on Anne Clark, a non-public lawyer who helped lead James’ investigation into the governor, the newspaper reported.
‘Meets and much exceeds’
Cuomo’s alleged conduct along with his accusers, as described in James’ report, “clearly meets and much exceeds this customary,” Clark advised The Journal Information, referring to the up to date customary.
Cuomo advised James’ workplace that he didn’t recall present process sexual harassment coaching in any 12 months aside from 2019, the newspaper reported.
Charlotte Bennett, one in every of Cuomo’s accusers, advised investigators she overheard a dialog in 2019 by which Benton claimed to have undergone the coaching rather than Cuomo – however each Benton and Cuomo testified that the governor himself accomplished the coaching, The Journal Information reported.
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After James launched her report on Cuomo’s alleged misconduct, the Democrat’s response this week included a pledge to enhance sexual harassment coaching within the state.
“Now, the state already has a complicated sexual harassment coaching program for all staff, together with me,” Cuomo mentioned. “however I would like New York state authorities to be a mannequin of workplace conduct, and I introduced in an professional to design a brand new sexual harassment coverage and procedures, and to coach the entire workforce, myself included. I settle for duty and we’re making adjustments.”
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