Revisiting New York’s sexual harassment training requirements
October 21, 2021
It’s been a few years since New York City and State introduced mandatory sexual harassment training policies. After the initial confusion regarding overlap between the two requirements, it is now reasonably straightforward for employers to adhere to both requirements. In order to become/remain compliant with both, there’s a notice component, an information component and a training component. Adhering to each alone is not difficult, however with competing priorities (especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic), adherence can sometimes fall by the wayside. Below is a quick a refresher regarding local (NYC) and state rules:
New York City
All employees
Firstly, a notice in English and Spanish must be placed in an “obvious” place. Where there is no obvious place because there is no office, the notice should be provided directly to employees.
Secondly, a fact sheet must be given to all new employees explaining their rights.
Only for employers who have more than 15 employees
Thirdly, employees must train each year. Luckily, the training can be completed online without charge.
New York State
All employees
Firstly all employers are obligated to adopt an anti-sexual harassment policy. While employers are entitled to create their own, it’s generally easiest to use the State’s.
Secondly, all employees must be notified of the policy. The easiest way to do this is to a) provide notice to all employees during the onboarding process and b) place a notice regarding the policy in a conspicuous place. The ultimate goal is to ensure that every employee is aware of the policy, so this two-prong approach is the best way to ensure that employees are initially made aware, and then are subsequently reminded by seeing a conspicuous posting in the workplace.
Secondly, all employees must be offered sexual harassment training. The easiest way to achieve this is by requiring employees to watch the video provided by NY State and ensuring that employees have the ability to ask questions during the presentations. Any questions asked must be answered within a reasonable period of time – “If you are using this video to meet the training requirements, you must also: ask questions of employees as part of the program; accommodate questions asked by employees, with answers provided in a timely manner; or require feedback from employees about the training and the materials presented.” Note that the NYC training is also compatible with state requirements, so NYC based employers can ensure compliance with both by using the NYC training.
Ultimately, the above steps are not onerous, and once implemented, require that training be renewed once each year. The penalties for not adhering to the state/city laws can be severe - $100 per violation, per employee. Moreover, the law also calls for a custodial sentence for violations.
