Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo by Rick Kopstein

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo floated the idea of limiting the ability of publicly traded companies and government entities to secretly settle sexual harassment allegations.

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon, the Democratic governor said he would be proposing a legislative package on the subject of sexual harassment during his upcoming state address on Jan. 3. While details from the governor were scarce, Cuomo floated the possibility of having publicly traded companies disclose sexual harassment settlements to shareholders.

“You have all sorts of settlements made on the proviso that nobody says anything about it and the woman has to agree to confidentiality and then it's paid for by funds that come from other than the perpetrator,” Cuomo said during the conference call. “In the case of corporate America, if it's a public company, the shareholders pay. If it's in the case of the U.S. Congress, the taxpayers pay. Why? Why? Why should you use a shareholder's money? Why should you use taxpayer's money to cover up a wrong, to compensate for a wrong, and then not disclose it and to gag the woman? So that's part of the problem that we're trying to grapple with and we want to address in the State of the State.”

Cuomo's remarks came hours after he responded to a female reporter's question on sexual harassment by saying her question about what the state should do to address sexual harassment is a “disservice to women.”

“We have policies in state government, obviously, that affect state government, but I think you miss the point,” Cuomo said during an event in Albany earlier in the day. “When you say it's state government, you do a disservice to women, with all due respect even though you're a woman. It's not government, it's society.”

During the conference call with reporters several hours later, Cuomo clarified his remarks.

“My point was we are going to have a comprehensive package addressing the sexual harassment. Obviously, part of that will be sexual harassment by government officials. But that is just the tip of the iceberg,” Cuomo said.

The proposal floated by Cuomo Wednesday evening appears to be similar to a bill introduced by two Democratic lawmakers in late October. Assemblywoman Nily Rozic of Queens and state Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan introduced a bill that would make any contract void if an employer forces an employee to keep quiet about sexual harassment and discrimination claims. The new language to an already existing bill would include claims that are settled in arbitration, where nondisclosure agreements keep the details of the events private.

For years, Albany was plagued with its own scandals regarding sexual harassment and secret sexual harassment settlements. Former Assemblyman Vito Lopez was censured by the Assembly after being accused of sexually harassing two women who worked in his district office. The censure had come months after Lopez reached a secret $103,000 sexual harassment settlement with two other women, which included a $20,000 fine if Lopez or either of the women went public with the agreement or the allegations.

Last month, a former state economic development official appointed by Cuomo was sued by a state employee over alleged sexual harassment.

Cuomo, the Empire State Development Corp. and the state also are named as defendants in the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a Department of Motor Vehicles employee. The former Cuomo administration employee, Sam Hoyt, entered into a confidential settlement agreement of $50,000.