Reminder! The Deadline For ALL New York State Employers to Provide Sexual Harassment Training is October 9
As we recently discussed, New York State has implemented sweeping changes to its workplace sexual harassment laws. Under the new laws, all New York employers (regardless of the number of employees) are required to provide sexual harassment training to their employees.
The deadline to provide this training is October 9 – just five weeks away.
As a reminder, New York requires its employers to provide this training annually. Among other things, the training must:
· Define sexual harassment and provide specific examples
· Explain both State and Federal harassment laws and explain how sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination
· Describe both internal and external avenues to redress complaints, including the employer’s internal complaint procedures
· Inform employees of the venues available for adjudicating complaints (such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York State Division of Human Rights)
· Explain the responsibilities that managers and supervisors have to prevent and stop harassment
· Provide examples of unlawful retaliation
In addition, the training must be interactive (requiring some employee involvement, such as hypotheticals or questions and answers). Employers must also maintain records indicating which employees completed the training for three years.
If you are a New York employer and have not yet completed this mandatory training, you must do so before October 9 to be compliant with State laws.
Our firm provides training at your workplace that complies with both State and City requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact your attorneys at Weinstein + Klein to discuss these requirements and the steps you can take to protect your business from liability.