Reminder: Sexual Harassment Training Deadline Is Approaching
As a reminder, all employers in New York must provide their employees with training on the prevention of sexual harassment and discrimination. The deadline for employers to provide the first round of training is October 9, 2019 in New York City and December 31, 2019 elsewhere in the state.
The training may be provided in a variety of formats, but an interactive element must be involved. All employees must receive the training and attendance records need to be maintained. For buildings with union employees, the labor unions are making training programs available. Employers may require their union employees to attend this training. Training programs for non-union employees or employers are offered by law firms (including Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer), managing agents, and other providers.
Existing law also requires that employers have written policies and procedures prohibiting sexual harassment and addressing how incidents are to be reported and investigated. These policies should be periodically reviewed and updated to ensure that they satisfy evolving legal standards and best practices. Employers should also be aware of legislation recently passed by the New York State Legislature that further strengthens New York law against sexual harassment by eliminating the current requirement under federal case law that sexual harassment in the workplace must be “severe or pervasive” in order to violate the law.