Equal Opportunity at NYCHA
Dear Colleagues,
As NYCHA’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer, I firmly believe that discrimination and harassment are contrary to the values we promote in the workplace and are detrimental to our success as an agency. With the passing of new laws in New York strengthening anti-discrimination and anti-harassment protections, I want to take this opportunity to reiterate our zero-tolerance policy to harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Any acts or comments that you may think are trivial inconveniences or petty slights – but may be perceived by employees to be based on or related to their demographics (i.e., age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, or religion) – will not be tolerated.
You are our “first line of defense” and so must take proactive roles in ensuring that our work environment remains free of discrimination and harassment. If you think any employee perceives a comment or act – even an isolated one – to be related to their demographics, you should refrain from making such comments or actions. In addition, if you witness this kind of conduct or are informed that it occurred, you should immediately report it to NYCHA’s Department of Equal Opportunity (DEO) at DEO@nycha.nyc.gov or by leaving a message on the DEO helpline at 212-306-4468. An investigator will reach out promptly to determine whether an investigation needs to be conducted and if there will be any corrective action.
We updated our formal policies and workplace discrimination trainings in light of recent laws that prohibit discrimination and harassment, and notified all employees that they must acknowledge these policies. In addition, the DEO conducted borough-wide and executive trainings on these updates. I encourage you to access the resources available on NYCHA Connect. If you have any questions related to NYCHA’s anti-discrimination or anti-harassment policy, please contact your supervisor or the DEO.
Thank you for your continued partnership in promoting a workplace free from discrimination and harassment.
Sincerely,
Gregory Russ
Chair & Chief Executive Officer
