As you are aware, on April 12, 2018, Governor Cuomo signed into law the 2019 New York State Budget, updating New York State’s sexual harassment laws. The new law is aimed to combat sexual harassment in the workplace as part of the 2018 Women’s Agenda for New York: Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity.
The new law requires all New York State employers to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and training, beginning October 9, 2018. Employers must complete the sexual harassment training in the workplace for all employees by January 1, 2019. Employees must be trained at least once per year. In subsequent years, this may be based on the calendar year, anniversary of each employee’s start date or any other date the employer chooses. All employees must complete sexual harassment training within 30 calendar days of starting their job.
The Governor’s Office has posted the attached model draft documents as guidance for employees and employers. The public, employers and employees are encouraged to provide comments to the proposed policies. Comments can be submitted on or before September 12, 2018 here: https://www.ny.gov/content/sexual-harassment-prevention-policies
Model Sexual Harassment Policy
All New York State employers are required to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy by October 9, 2018. The State has provided the following draft model Statewide Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy: https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/StatewideSexualHarassment_PreventionPolicy.pdf
An employer that does not adopt the model policy must ensure that the policy that they adopt meets or exceeds the law’s minimum standards. At a minimum, the policy must:
- prohibit sexual harassment consistent with guidance issued by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Division of Human Rights
- provide examples of prohibited conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment
- include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment, remedies available to victims of sexual harassment, and a statement that there may be applicable local laws
- include a complaint form
- include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints that ensures due process for all parties
- inform employees of their rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating sexual harassment complaints administratively and judicially
- clearly state that sexual harassment is considered a form of employee misconduct and that sanctions will be enforced against individuals engaging in sexual harassment and against supervisory and managerial personnel who knowingly allow such behavior to continue
- clearly state that retaliation against individuals who complain of sexual harassment or who testify or assist in any investigation or proceeding involving sexual harassment is unlawful
The State’s minimum standards for Sexual Harassment Prevention Policies can be found here: https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/StandardsSexualHarassmentPreventionPolicies.pdf
Model Complaint Form
The New York State Labor Law requires all employers to adopt a sexual harassment policy that includes a complaint form for employees to report alleged incidents of sexual harassment.
Attached please find the State’s model Sexual Harassment Complaint form: https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/ComplaintformSexualHarassment.pdf
Training Requirements
All New York State employers are required to provide employees with sexual harassment prevention training. The training must be adopted by October 9, 2018 and provided to all employees by January 1, 2019. The State has posted the following draft Sexual Harassment Prevention Training: https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/SexualHarassmentDRAFTModelTraining.pdf
An employer that does not use the model training developed by the Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights must ensure that the training that they use meets or exceeds the following minimum standards. At a minimum, the training must:
- be interactive – “Interactive” requires some form of employee participation, meaning the training may:
- Be web-based with questions asked of employees as part of the program;
- Accommodate questions asked by employees;
- Include a live trainer made available during the session to answer questions; and/or
- Require feedback from employees about the training and the materials presented.
- include an explanation of sexual harassment consistent with guidance issued by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Division of Human Rights
- include examples of conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment
- include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment
- include information concerning employees’ rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating complaints
- include information addressing conduct by supervisors and any additional responsibilities for such supervisors
Should you have any questions or concerns with regard to the foregoing, or if we can assist you with your training or other compliance requirements, please do not hesitate to contact our office.