New York City’s more than 330,000 municipal employees, along with its contractors, interns, and agency volunteers, will have to complete annual anti-racism training beginning in July 2025 under new legislation backed by City Council.
The new training — mandated by a bill passed Wednesday from Councilmember Nantasha Williams, a Democrat from Queens — will supplement diversity training already required for city employees.
Another newly approved bill, from Councilmember Amanda Farías, a Bronx Democrat, requires anti-racism training for contractors with human services agencies, such as social workers assigned to shelters.
City Hall spokesperson Charles Lutvak said the bills face no opposition from Mayor Eric Adams, paving the way for their enactment.
The legislation is part of a package introduced last year around Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery after the Civil War, and is aimed at addressing racial justice and equity in the city.
The bills’ passage comes as some Republican-led states, including Florida and Texas, are cracking down on diversity and equity training, particularly in higher education.
Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Stop WOKE” Act, which limits how businesses and public universities can lead training on race, gender and inequality. In the spring, Texas passed a bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices, programs and trainings in publicly funded universities.
Former President Donald Trump in fall 2020 issued an executive order banning diversity training for federal government employees, but the order was later revoked by President Joe Biden.
“It’s imperative that we dismantle any ingrained biases that perpetuate discrimination,” Councilmember Farías said. “It’s a way we can provide a more just and inclusive provision of services.”
Councilmember Williams said the city’s new trainings are “essential.”
“I have no interest in playing politics with systemic racism as some other states and localities seem to be doing,” she said in a statement.
Williams’ bill requires instruction on how to identify and respond to racism and racial discrimination in the workplace. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services will add a new anti-racism module to its existing required diversity and inclusion training, called “Everybody Matters.” It teaches about different protected identity categories, including race, gender and disability.
Farías bill requires the new training for human services workers to include teachings on how to serve clients from diverse backgrounds and marginalized groups.
The bill also requires teachings on how racism affects human services, along with policies and practices to combat racism and advance racial equity through employees’ work.
The councilmembers said the goal is to create a more inclusive and equitable work environment for city staff and the people they serve, through teachings about systemic racism and bias.
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