201810.01
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THE LATEST ON NEW YORK’S SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW: WHAT EVERY EMPLOYER MUST KNOW

in 1) Business Law, 2) Employment Law

As you are hopefully aware, in April 2018, Governor Cuomo signed into law a comprehensive policy requiring all New York State employers to provide sexual harassment prevention training and a sexual harassment prevention policy to all employees. The Governor tasked the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and Division of Human Rights with promulgating the exact requirements, penalties and timing for this to be completed.

The requirements are now out.

The DOL has recently provided guidance to employers regarding how to proceed to comply with the new laws. While some questions remain unanswered, the DOL has provided significant clarity as follows:

  • Employers must provide their employees with a comprehensive written sexual harassment policy with specific language by October 9, 2018;
  • Employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees by October 9, 2019. Supervisors and managers must receive separate training from regular employees;
  • New hires must receive training within 30 days of hire. It is recommended that even if these employees received training by their prior employer, that the new employer provide said training;
  • Training must be performed on a yearly basis;
  • The training must be interactive. It can be performed in person or on the internet, but employees must be able to ask questions and receive answers from a live person;
  • If you are a NYC employer, you are required to post a specific sexual harassment poster in your break room.

In order to comply with the law in a timely fashion, we urge employers to contact a qualified attorney to discuss how to proceed. Our firm will be offering live training sessions, both at your place of business or in our conference center, throughout the fall and winter. If you utilize our service, we will also be providing you the necessary sexual harassment prevention policies to provide to your employees that is legally compliant.

To discuss your options or schedule training for your employees, contact Jeff Ettenger at 631-777-2401 x22 or email him at jse@selawny.com.

In addition to the training and policy requirements, other changes were made to New York’s sexual harassment law. To learn more about these changes, read our related post: Big Changes For New York State Employers With New Anti-Sexual Harassment Requirements.