NY BUDGET BILL IMPOSES NEW HARASSMENT TRAINING OBLIGATIONS ON ALL EMPLOYERS
September 4, 2018
Earlier this year, New York State passed its 2018-19 budget bill, which included stringent new requirements on all New York employers to provide mandatory annual sexual harassment training to their employees. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called this the “strongest, most comprehensive anti-sexual harassment protection in the nation”. The new law requires that employers provide interactive annualized training to all employees, and the deadline for compliance is October 9, 2018. The New York State Division of Human Rights will develop a training program and draft a model sexual harassment policy for employers to use. Alternatively, however, employers can create their own policy or training program, as long as they equal or exceed the standards in the state’s model.
The law also imposes responsibility on the employer for harassment that occurs in the workplace, even if it is done by a non-employee (i.e. third party contractors, etc.), with the obligation to undertake corrective action. There is also language in the legislation that prohibits mandatory arbitration clauses and non-disclosure or confidentiality language in any settlement agreements, except under certain circumstances. Finally, while many companies previously provided their employees with training as a matter of course, the new law imposes a more structured interactive training that must be verified by the employee. Failure to comply with the law will result in the imposition of penalties that are yet to be determined but will also expose the employer to liability in the event it is sued for sexual harassment.
Regarding the required training, we would recommend that it be:
- Conducted by counsel rather than non-legal personnel; and
- Divided between non-managerial and managerial employees.
We are happy to provide additional information on the new training requirements, or arrange to assist your organization with a mandatory training session.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Alexander Matthews (amatthews@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6633).
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