In 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into a law a new measure that strengthens New York's sexual harassment laws by lowering the threshold for civil claims. 

Investigators in a report released this week determined that was one of several laws Cuomo has broken. Employment attorney Kevin Mintzer called the report's findings a textbook example of sexual harassment.  

"And I think if you read the report, what you get is the amount of detail and corroboration," he said. 

The law changed New York's threshold for sexual harassment to a standard that requires a "pervasive" atmosphere to one in which a person is treated unfairly in the workplace because of their gender. 

Local prosecutors in Albany, Nassau and Suffolk counties are now reviewing whether Cuomo broke any criminal laws in addition to civil sexual harassment statutes as the more serious allegations of unwanted touching by the governor are reviewed. Investigators did not make any criminal referrals in the report.  

Mintzer said bringing a criminal case would be harder to prove due to a higher burden than civil cases.  

"The potential criminal liability here is a little overheated, or to some extent, getting a little ahead of itself," he said. "You can't just do it by using the report. You'd have to prove the specific charge and the specific incident that you are going to charge and allege criminal behavior for beyond a reasonable doubt."

Still, investigators concluded Cuomo and his office broke several laws — including retaliating against one woman, Lindsay Boylan, by leaking her personnel file after she made an accusation. 

"There's always that fear there will be efforts to discredit you and discredit allegations by dredging up bad facts about you," said attorney Jessica Westerman, who is representing former Cuomo aide Charlotte Bennett. 

Bennett told investigators and has said publicly Cuomo propositioned her for sex. Cuomo has insisted he had tried to mentor Bennett. But Westerman called those claims absurd.

At the same time, the stated intent of the governor as outline in harassment guidelines for the governor's office is beside the point, she said.  

"It makes very clear that whether or not an individual has been subjected to sexual harassment has nothing to do with the intent," Westerman said. ​