New York State Law Update: Sexual Harassment Training

As you are hopefully aware, in April 2018, Governor Cuomo signed into law a comprehensive policy requiring all New York State employers to provide sexual harassment prevention training and a sexual harassment prevention policy to all employees. The Governor tasked the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and Division of Human Rights with promulgating the exact requirements, penalties and timing for this to be completed.

The requirements are now out. The DOL has recently provided guidance to employers regarding how to proceed to comply with the new laws. While some questions remain unanswered, the DOL has provided significant clarity for employers as to how to proceed to comply with the new law. Specifically:

• Employers must provide their employees with a comprehensive written sexual harassment policy with specific language by October 9, 2018;
• Employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees by October 1, 2019. Supervisors and managers must receive separate training from regular employees;
• New hires must receive training within 30 days of hire. It is recommended that even if these employees received training by their prior employer, that the new employer provide said training;
• Training must be performed on a yearly basis;
• The training must be interactive. It can be performed in person or on the internet, but employees must be able to ask questions and receive answers from a live person;
• If you are a NYC employer, you are required to post a specific sexual harassment poster in your break room.

In order to comply with the law in a timely fashion, we urge our clients to contact us to discuss how to proceed. We will be offering live training sessions, both at your place of business or in our conference center, throughout the fall and winter. If you utilize our service, we will also be providing you the necessary sexual harassment prevention policies to provide to your employees that is legally compliant.

To discuss your options or schedule training for your employees, we ask that you contact Jeff Ettenger at 631-777-2401 extension 22 or email him at [email protected].

SE Training, LLC is a law firm that specializes in providing sexual harassment training for small and midsized businesses that meets the new mandatory NYS law requirements. Jeffrey Ettenger, Esq., partner of Schwartz Ettenger, PLLC and SE Training, LLC, focuses on providing cost effective and pragmatic advice to employers to assist them in operating their business and avoiding litigation. As a skilled trial attorney, Mr. Ettenger has substantial litigation experience defending state and federal unpaid wage claims and employment discrimination cases.