Update on New York Anti-Sexual Harassment Training
Since our May 7 blog post covering new sexual harassment legal requirements for New York State employers, on May 9, New York City Mayor De Blasio signed a series of bills further altering the sexual harassment landscape for employers in New York City.
The most significant change, which will be effective on April 1, 2019, requires employers employing 15 or more employees to conduct annual interactive sexual harassment training that meets specific statutory parameters. The New York City action follows the action by New York State, which greatly changed requirements relating to sexual harassment for virtually all employers in the State. Although the City and State training requirements are similar, in large part, there are some differences. For example, the City law requires that training cover bystander intervention, which is not required under the State law. New York City employers will have to comply with both legal regimes.
The new City law also:
- Mandates a new sexual harassment posting and distribution of an information sheet to new employees when they are hired (Effective September 6, 2018);
- Extends the statute of limitations for filing claims of gender-based harassment from 1 to 3 years (Effective Now);
- Expands exposure for gender-based harassment under the NY City Human Rights Law to all City employers regardless of the number of people employed (Effective Now).
Should you have any questions concerning the new New York laws, or anti-abusive conduct training for managers and employees, please contact Keith Grossman at (310) 255-1821, kgrossman@hkemploymentlaw.com, or Glen Kraemer at (310) 255-1800, gkraemer@hkemploymentlaw.com