Don’t forget – April 1 marks the beginning of a new set of sexual harassment training requirements in New York City. While the training requirement began across New York State on October 9, 2018 (and must be completed by October 9, 2019), the City imposes additional requirements on certain employers. Both laws require training to be provided on an annual basis.
While the State law requires training of all New York employees, regardless of the number of employees in the State, the City law applies only to employers with 15 or more employees. However, when counting employees under the City law, an employer must also count independent contractors who work for the employer in New York City.
What topics need to be covered? There is some overlap in the training requirements for the City and State laws, but the City law has a few additional requirements. The chart below summarizes the requirements:
|
Interactive Training Content |
NYS |
NYC |
| Define sex harassment, with specific examples |
Yes |
Yes |
| Explain federal & state harassment laws |
Yes |
Yes & NYCHRL |
| Describe employees’ remedies & right of redress |
Yes |
Yes |
| Detail forums for adjudicating complaints – EEOC & NYSDHR |
Yes |
Yes & Commission |
| Educate on “bystander” intervention |
No |
Yes |
| Explain responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees |
No |
Yes |
| Define & provide examples of retaliation |
No |
Yes |
As a reminder, all New York State employers should have a sexual harassment policy in place. New York City employers also need to post a sexual harassment prevention poster and provide a copy to new hires.
If you need New York State or City training that is compliant with all of these various requirements, check out our e-learning solution, Halting Harassment: Rules of the Road for a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace.