Both New York State and New York City have enacted laws related to sexual harassment prevention, with different provisions for employee communication and training along with various dates for compliance. The first New York City provisions went into place September 6 and further elements of state and city acts will be rolling out over the next nine months. Final New York State regulations were released October 1 and the first provisions go into effect October 9.
Please note: The state law applies to city employers and employees. The city has yet to announce how it will handle application of the state protections, which are broader than the city’s.
New York City promises to provide a model training document that can be used by employers sometime in the future. New York State issued all of the following for employer use in complying with state law:
New York State’s training requirements are similar to those in the other states that currently mandate training – California, Connecticut, and Maine. The major differences in the New York State law include:
The New York City “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act” applies to all employers with 15 or more employees and requires annual training for all employees beginning April 1, 2019. The city’s law goes beyond the state mandate to include provisions that (1) address bystander intervention and (2) describe the complaint process available through the city Commission on Human Rights, the state Division of Human Rights, and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Contact information for the offices of these agencies that employees may report harassment issues to must also be shared.
The city’s model training document is still pending. And don’t forget, the New York State law is applicable to all New York City employers and their employees.