Your Employer Has Legal Obligations If You’re a Survivor of Sexual Assault. Here’s What They Are.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month — a time to recognize the courage of survivors and make sure they know their rights.

Sexual assault doesn’t stay outside the workplace door. For many survivors, the aftermath — the court dates, the trauma responses, the safety planning, the need for medical care — plays out directly against the backdrop of a job. And yet too many survivors don’t know that their employer has concrete, enforceable legal obligations to them. Some arise from the assault itself happening at work. Others protect survivors navigating the aftermath of an assault that happened anywhere.

In New York, those obligations are substantial. Here’s what you need to know.

When the Assault Happens at Work: Your Employer Is Legally Responsible

Sexual assault in the workplace is, legally, a form of sexual harassment. That means it triggers the full weight of anti-harassment law — and your employer’s liability doesn’t stop with the individual perpetrator.

Under both the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), employers have an affirmative duty to maintain a workplace free of sexual harassment and assault. When they fail that duty — by ignoring complaints, protecting an abuser, failing to investigate, or allowing a culture of abuse to persist — the employer itself can be held liable.

This includes harassment or assault by supervisors, co-workers, clients, customers, or anyone else connected to the workplace. The NYCHRL specifically requires employers to take immediate action when they become aware of harassment. Knowing and doing nothing is not a defense.

Your Employer Must Accommodate the Aftermath of Assault

If you experienced sexual assault — whether at work or outside of it — your employer has specific accommodation obligations while you deal with the consequences. Under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL, employers must allow reasonable time off for:

• Medical appointments or treatment related to the assault
• Psychological counseling or trauma therapy
• Obtaining services from a rape crisis center or victim services organization
• Safety planning, including temporary or permanent relocation
• Appearing in court, meeting with the District Attorney’s office, or assisting in a prosecution
• Meeting with a civil attorney about your legal options
• Filing a police report or obtaining a protective order
• Remote work or use of an alternate office location to avoid returning to the site of an assault
• Written rather than verbal communications to avoid triggering trauma responses

These are not favors. They are legal rights. An employer who fires, disciplines, or penalizes you for missing work to attend to any of these needs — without engaging with you in good faith on accommodation — has likely violated the law.

The only exception is if accommodation creates undue hardship, which depends on the size and nature of the business. Undue hardship is a high bar that employers rarely meet.

The Interactive Process Is Not Optional

Both the NYSHRL and NYCHRL require your employer to engage in a genuine, good-faith interactive process before denying an accommodation. Under the NYCHRL, this is called “cooperative dialogue” — a real exchange of information to understand your needs and explore options.

A flat refusal, a dismissive conversation, or a supervisor who simply says “we can’t do that” is not a legal response. If your employer didn’t actually sit down with you and work through options, that absence of process is itself a violation.

Your Employer Can Ask for Documentation — But Must Keep It Confidential

Your employer may ask you to provide documentation of your situation. Acceptable forms include:

• A police or court record
• Documentation from a medical professional, counselor, or health care provider
• A letter from an attorney or employee of a victim services organization
• Other corroborating evidence

Critically, your employer is required to keep this information strictly confidential. Sharing your status as a survivor — with co-workers, other supervisors, or anyone who doesn’t need to know — is independently prohibited under New York law. A confidentiality breach is its own violation.

You Have the Right to Paid Safe Leave

Under the New York City Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, employers with five or more employees must provide up to 40 hours of paid safe leave annually. This leave is explicitly available to survivors of sexual assault and covers time spent on:

• Meeting with a social worker or victim advocate
• Filing a police report
• Attending court appearances or meetings with the DA’s office
• Moving into safe housing
• Consulting with a civil attorney
• Financial counseling or other safety-related services

This leave cannot be counted against you. Discipline or termination in retaliation for taking safe leave is illegal and carries its own set of remedies, including back pay, front pay, reinstatement, and civil penalties.

The Statute of Limitations — And a Critical Window That Is Open Right Now

For workplace harassment and discrimination claims: As of February 2024, the statute of limitations to file with the New York State Division of Human Rights is three years for all employment discrimination claims. Under the NYCHRL, you have three years to file a lawsuit in court.

For civil sexual assault claims: New York extended the statute of limitations to 20 years for civil lawsuits involving certain felony sexual offenses that occurred after 2019.

For NYC survivors — a rare window is open right now: In January 2026, the New York City Council overrode a mayoral veto to amend the Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA). The GMVA provides a civil cause of action for survivors of gender-motivated violence — including sexual assault — that is completely independent of the criminal justice system and separate from any employment claim.

The 2026 amendment created a new 18-month lookback window, currently open, running through approximately July 29, 2027. This means that if you experienced sexual assault or other gender-motivated violence in New York City before January 9, 2022 — even years or decades ago — you may now be able to file a civil lawsuit even if you were previously told your claim was time-barred.

The amendment also explicitly extends liability to institutions: employers, hospitals, schools, and other organizations that knew about the violence, enabled it, or failed to act can now be named as defendants alongside the individual perpetrator.

This window is not expected to be extended. If you have been waiting — for any reason — now is the time to speak with an attorney.

What “Enabling Institutions” Means for Employers

The GMVA amendment puts institutional accountability in plain statutory language: any entity that “commits, directs, enables, participates in, or conspires in” gender-motivated violence can be held liable. For survivors of workplace sexual assault, this matters enormously.

If your employer knew an abuser had prior complaints and kept him anyway; if HR ignored your report; if supervisors covered for a colleague who assaulted you — your employer may have civil liability under the GMVA, in addition to any harassment claim. The individual who assaulted you doesn’t have to be the only defendant.

If You’re Undocumented, You Still Have Rights

It bears saying plainly: immigration status does not eliminate your rights in New York. Using an employee’s immigration status to intimidate them or prevent them from reporting harassment or requesting accommodation is itself unlawful under New York law. Retaliation against any employee for reporting sexual assault — regardless of immigration status — is prohibited.

What You Should Do

Document everything. Dates, what happened, who was involved, who witnessed it. Keep records outside your work email and devices.

Report within your workplace — in writing. A written complaint creates a paper trail. Your employer’s response — or non-response — becomes part of your case.

Request accommodation in writing. Be specific about what you need: a court date, a medical appointment, time with an attorney. Keep copies of everything you send and receive.

Take your safe leave. You’re entitled to it. Use it without apology.

Don’t sign anything without a lawyer. If you’re being offered a severance package or separation agreement, there’s a strong chance you’re being asked to release legal claims that have real value. Get a consultation before you sign.

Know the deadlines. The GMVA lookback window closes approximately July 29, 2027 — but the window is strict, and building a case takes time. Don’t wait.

You Deserve Support, Safety, and Justice

At Dolce Law PLLC, we represent employees on the plaintiff’s side — people who have been wronged at work, including survivors of workplace sexual assault and harassment. 

This month — Sexual Assault Awareness Month — and every month, we stand with survivors. If you were assaulted at work, if your employer failed to protect you, or if you’re navigating the aftermath of an assault and need to understand your rights, let’s talk.

If you are in immediate danger, please call 911. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).