A bill meant to strengthen New York's sexual harassment laws by adding legal protections for workers who face retaliation from their employers was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The approval of the bill was a victory for advocates like the Sexual Harassment Working Group after years of calling attention to sexual harassment and misconduct by powerful officials in state government. 

The new law will clarify the release of personnel records as an act of retaliation against workers who report workplace discrimination. The law approved by Hochul on Wednesday also allows the state attorney general's office to investigate cases in which employers may have violated or intended to violate the law. 

Hochul also approved legislation on Wednesday that creates a toll-free hotline to report sexual harassment and also stregnthens sexual harassment statutes by adding them to the state's human rights law. 

"Sexual harasssment in the workplace is as old as the workplace is," Hochul said at a bill signing ceremony at the Javits Center in New York City. "It's been there a long time."

The governor encouraged lawmakers to continue to approve additional sexual harassment laws. 

"You have an advocate in me," she said. 

Hochul's approval comes less than a year after she was elevated to the governor's office following the resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo following allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. Following initital allegations of harassment by former economic development aide Lindsay Boylan, Cuomo's office leaked her personnel file to the media detailing complaints that had been made against her. 

Hochul early on sought to set a different tone from her predecessor by cracking down on sexual harassment and bullying in her office. 

"My administration has cleaned house. This is a new day in New York. I said on day one, everyone has a right to a workplace where they are valued and respected."

Cuomo's office at the time had insisted the move was meant to provide a fuller picture of why Boylan left state employment. But attorneys who specialize in sexual harassment law called the move a textbook case of retaliation by Cuomo's office.