All NYS Employers Required To Provide In Person Sexual Harassment Training And Written Policies By October 2019

By October 9, 2018 New York State has mandated that employers provide all employees with annual sexual harassment training and have a written anti-harassment policy in place, in addition annual training and policy updates are required.

What this means for you (no later than October 9, 2018) you must:

• Develop Sexual Harassment and Assault polices that include (please note this is not all inclusive):

• • What constitutes harassment
  • Information regarding federal, state and local sexual harassment laws and the remedies available to victims
  • A standard complaint form
  • A standard complaint process that ensures due process for ALL parties
  • Explanation of employees external rights
  • A statement indicating that sexual harassment is a form of employee misconduct and will be enforced
  • A non retaliation statement
• Complete your first annual sexual harassment training (and continue to do on an annual basis) (not all inclusive):

• • Must be in person and interactive
  • Explanation of sexual harassment and examples of inappropriate conduct
  • Information regarding federal, state and local sexual harassment laws and the remedies available to victims
  • Explanation of employee’s external rights of redress and the available administrative and judicial forums for bringing complaints

We at Tanner Insurance understand the importance of this issue and are working with our insurance companies to provide sample policies and training for our insureds.

Employers now more than ever need Employment Practices Liability Protection.  Please contact us to see if your business owners policy includes this coverage or how much it will cost to add.

We want to be a resource for you, so if you have questions or need more information on this topic please contact us.

You can read more about the law and written guidance direct from NYS here: https://dhr.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidance-sexual-harassment-employers.pdf

UPDATE: Change in NYS deadline for mandatory sexual harassment training

We have been working under the belief that all employers in New York State must complete the first mandatory sexual harassment training between Oct. 9 and Dec. 31, 2018. However, Gov. Cuomo announced the finalization of the draft required workplace policy and model training program. Among other things, the final version states that the training must be completed by Oct. 9 of next year. This obviously gives our clients more time to plan and prepare and implement the new policy and training in the workplace to comply with the law.

Beginning in January 2019, all state contractors must submit an affirmation that they have a sexual harassment policy and that they have trained all of their employees. The new law ensures that nondisclosure agreements can only be used when the condition of confidentiality is the explicit preference of the victim.

Following is the link to NYS website with more information on the law, guidance, training modules and requirements.  https://www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace

If you have questions, please contact Us at 315-363-0223.