The New York State mandate applies to all employers, regardless of their size, who employ anyone in the state of New York. The New York City mandate applies to all employers with 15 or more employees.
Overview
Earlier this year, both New York State and New York City enacted sexual harassment prevention laws, with different provisions for employee communication and training along with various dates for compliance. As of note, New York State passed a law requiring employers to provide sexual-harassment training to all workers by October 9, 2019. An overview of the laws can be found here.
Employer Requirements
The New York State law applies to all employers, regardless of their size, who employ anyone in New York State. Furthermore, it applies to all contractors who bid on New York State contracts and to all employees (not just supervisors). It also requires that the training is provided annually. It's important to note that if an individual works a portion of their time in New York State, even if they’re based in another state, they must be trained.
The New York City law applies to all employers with 15 or more employees, and requires annual sexual harassment training for all employees, beginning on April 1, 2019.
The sexual harassment training must provide the following:
- An explanation of sexual harassment and specific examples of inappropriate conduct.
- Detailed information concerning federal, state and local laws and the remedies available to victims of harassment.
- An explanation of employees' external rights of redress and the available administrative and judicial forums for bringing complaints
Employer Action Items
In New York State:
- All sexual harassment training must be completed by October 9, 2019 (applies to all employers regardless of size and all employees, including transient)
- Annual training is required
- Employer policy must be posted
- New hire training as quickly as possible
In New York City*:
- Effective September 6, 2018, policy and posters must be posted
- Sexual harassment training is effective April 1, 2019 and all training must be completed by April 1, 2020 (applies to all employers with 15 or more employees and all employees, working more than 80+ hours/calendar year)
- Annual training is required
- Prominently displayed English & Spanish posters
- Provide information fact sheet to every new hire
- New hire training within 90 days
- Maintain training records for 3 years
*New York State law covers New York City employers and their employees. Where New York State law provides greater protections, it takes precedence over New York City law.
Solution for Vita Clients
Vita provides online employee training at no additional cost as part of our client service offering, including California and New York mandated harassment training. For more information about this solution, reach out to your account team, or contact us at 650-968-8811.
