Officials Say NYC Does Not Track Sexual Harassment Claims Across Entire Workforce

As the nation grapples with the #MeToo moment, city officials say they don't know how many municipal workers have filed sexual harassment claims.

At an unrelated press event on Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said since the beginning of his administration, he's made clear that sexual harassment won't be tolerated. And so far, he hasn't seen it.

“This has not been a phenomenon that that I have heard coming up in our administration in any significant way, thank god,” he said.

The mayor stressed his administration's values, noting that women occupy the majority of senior leadership positions.

The city has sexual harassment policies that apply across all agencies and a system of equal employment officers that can conduct internal investigations, according to Corporation Counsel Zach Carter.

“Beyond that, I can’t give you a sense in the aggregate of activity that is moving in one direction or the other,” said Carter.

Asked whether the city would be willing to release data on the number of complaints, de Blasio said he is open to “the right kind of transparency,” and then asked Carter to weigh in on the legal considerations.

“A balance must be struck,” said Carter, one that takes into account the public’s right to know and hold government accountable, versus the right to privacy of an accuser and the due process rights of the accused.

The mayor says he'll have more to say on how the city will tackle these issues shortly.

“I want New York City to do all we can do — both in terms of our own workforce and the private sector workforce,” said de Blasio. “We need to figure out what that is and what the legal requirements are.”