How to comply with New York State Harassment Laws
You’re a new business just about ready to open in New York, so it’s essential to ensure that your sexual harassment prevention policy is in line with the local law. If you’re seeking a comprehensive guide on NY state sexual harassment training, the guide below is for you.
From knowing the harassment training laws themselves to looking at the employers’ responsibilities and those of the staff members, there’s a lot to look at.
Following Harassment Training Laws in New York State
Both the New York State and New York City have created their own sexual harassment laws which are useful to anybody operating a business in the area. As of 2019, employers in New York State must provide yearly sexual harassment training to all of their employees – as part of the mandated sexual harassment policy.
Moreover, those in New York City must follow the anti-harassment laws set out. It is therefore the duty of every employer in these areas to put sexual harassment prevention policies in place, and to provide tr in line with the compulsory human rights law set out.
What are the sexual harassment training laws?
The city of New York sexual harassment law applies to all employers in the area and it states that companies with 15 or more employees must have additional policies too. These additional sexual harassment policies include the following:
- The sexual harassment training requirements program must cover intervention and retaliation of bystanders
- The training model policy must include all information cited in the complaint process of the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the EEOC, and the New York State Division of Human Rights
- The training records are to be kept by the employer for 3 years minimum
- Employees must be trained in sexual harassment prevention by 31 December 2019
In New York State, employers must provide sexual harassment prevention training as of 9th October 2019 to all employees in the area. Any company that bids on contracts that are located in the area are liable for submitting a confirmation that they have a harassment prevention policy in place.
Employee Responsibilities
Employees should be provided with a copy of the policy and training alongside their contracts in the state of New York and New York City. Should an employee not receive such information, it is their responsibility to follow this up with their manager.
Any employees in the area should be provided with information as to when anti-sexual harassment compliance training takes place.
Employer Responsibilities
By law, it is required that a manager provides their misconduct prevention policy to all employees on an annual basis. They must also provide any new staff that joins with training at any point throughout the working year and meet the training requirements as set out by the state.
Employees must carry out a compliance training program at least once per year to comply with the law. This is the responsibility of the employer to ensure such courses are in place and employees are informed of this training.