What Employers Need to Know About New York’s Harassment Law

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, The State of New York and New York City have passed several new provisions in an effort to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. These new law packages apply to employers of all sizes and covers both employees, vendors, contractors and interns.

Effective October 9, 2018, New York state employers are required to adopt a written sexual harassment in the workplace policy and conduct annual employee training.

The requirements, enacted as part of the state’s 2019 budget in April of 2018, modified many of the state’s labor and employment-related laws in order to increase protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. On October 1st, the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) developed a model written policy and training program. A specific criteria list must be addressed within the employer’s written policy and training program in order to be compliant.

Employers have the option of using the models provided or implementing their own policies that meet or exceed the standards established in the models.

ACTION ITEMS:

• Employers should review the models and familiarize themselves with applicable state and local laws to ensure their sexual harassment prevention policies and training programs are in compliance.
• Employers must distribute copies of its written sexual harassment prevention policy to employees by October 9, 2018.
• Employers must provide required training to employees by October 9, 2018 and on an annual basis thereafter.
• New hires should be trained as soon as possible, and annually thereafter.

We believe the changes in New York will act as a catalyst for change in neighboring states and across the country. Although there are no new required laws in PA/NJ/DE to provide formal anti-harassment training, we predict that other states will mirror New York’s new legislation. With that in mind, we encourage everyone to be informed about the updated New York requirements and begin to incorporate them into your polices so that your organization is at the forefront of change.

How Exude can Help?

Whether you work in New York or another state, Exude’s face-to-face, anti-harassment training programs exceed all of New York’s required standards. Additionally Exude’s HR consultants can help you conduct a policy review to make sure you are in compliant and uses the latest best practices. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more contact us today.
For more details on this topic download our full compliance bulletin.

Join us for our Anti-Harassment & Discrimination Mock Trial on December 12th from 8:30-10:30 am with employment law attorneys Lori Armstrong Halber and Rick Grimaldi from Fisher Phillips. Click here to register.