The following outlines critical information and dates pertaining to New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace regulations.
New York State
- All employers with one (1) or more employees performing work in the state must provide training that meets the state’s published standards. The state also posted a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which can be found here. All employees (no minimum-hour requirement) are required to be trained, and training must be provided annually.
- New employees, including interns, should be trained as soon as possible upon hire. While there is no specific timeframe requirement, employers may be liable for employee actions immediately upon hire, therefore the state encourages training as soon as possible.
- Contractors who bid on state contracts must certify that they have provided annual sexual harassment training to all employees, including those outside of the state.
- It is required that all New York employers must adopt and distribute a sexual harassment prevention policy in writing. New York State created guidance and a model training document, model sexual harassment policy, and model complaint form, which can all be found here. Employers are encouraged but not required to complete and post the Sexual Harassment Prevention Poster in a conspicuous location in the workplace.
New York City
- Employers with 15 or more full-or part-time employees must provide annual training for all employees, including interns. New hires must be trained within 90 days of hire.
- Employers must ensure all employees are trained annually, beginning with calendar year 2019, and every year thereafter.
- Employees must sign an acknowledgement that they’ve received sexual harassment training, and records documenting this training must be maintained for 3 years.
- New York City offers online training that satisfies the training requirement for both NYS and NYC, which can be found here. Employers may also choose to provide their own annual anti-harassment training for employees provided that it includes specific key elements. Check out the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act page for further details.
- If you’re an employer in New York City, you must also provide to the employee at the time of hire a written notice of their rights under the Human Rights Law. The NYCCHR provides the Stop Sexual Harassment Act Factsheet to fulfill this requirement.
- All New York City employers are required to display a poster in English and Spanish outlining employees’ rights and responsibilities regarding sexual harassment, as well as distribute an information sheet to individual employees at the time of hire. Legal notices and factsheets are available here.
Steps for Employers
- NYC employers should ensure that the sexual harassment prevention poster is displayed, and the information sheet distributed to all employees.
- Anti-harassment policy language should be updated as needed based on NYS requirements.
- Employers should offer a sexual harassment prevention training program that ensures state and city deadlines are met.
- Employees should be notified of continued sexual harassment prevention training requirements.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Resources
GreenSlate offers an in-app training module to help productions assign, manage, and track state-compliant sexual harassment prevention training.
For more information, please review the state’s Frequently Asked Questions here.
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This information is provided for general educational purposes only, and productions with specific compliance questions should consult with employment counsel. The New York State Department of Labor continues to issue updated guidance; employers should monitor the NYSDOL resources for the latest compliance information. This information in this communication is general in nature, and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice rendered by GreenSlate, LLC. The reader should contact his or her attorney, CPA, or tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information.