According to records obtained by the AP, New York State approved over $6 million over the last four years to settle sexual harassment claims made against state agencies or officials.
One man and 13 women made claims cases against several agencies, including the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Office; Downstate Medical Center; the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp.; the state courts system; the Division of Military and Naval Affairs; and SUNY Stony Brook; the Department of Corrections; SUNY and CUNY; the Office of Mental Health and a psychiatric hospital.
The largest payout was for $650,000 in a case involving the state Office of Children and Family Services; last year, a $103,000 settlement was paid to women who accused Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment; and a $300,000 settlement was to a prisoner for a guard’s improper “pat and frisk.”
Clearly, it is better to avoid claims of sexual harassment than to encourage them by failing to take the precautions that we always recommend.