Employers have less than 90 days to get into compliance with the New York State and New York City sexual harassment training requirements!  Act now, don’t wait. 

While the training requirements differ in minor ways under the two laws, there are key points for employers to keep in mind when deciding how to get into compliance as well as who should do the training. 

• 1.      All Employees Need to be Trained.  Under New York State law, all employers are required to train all employees regarding sexual harassment.  While the City law applies to employers with 15 or more employees, the State law undercuts this exemption.  Thus, no New York City employer is exempt from training even if it does not have 15 employees!      
• 2.     Employees Outside New York and New York City Must Also be Trained.  Employees who work outside of New York but travel to the State and employees who work out of State but interact with New York City employees all must be trained.  This means an employee in Iowa who interacts with the Company’s New York City employees only by teleconference or video conference must be trained!
• 3.     Certain Independent Contractors Must be Trained.   Under the New York City law, employers are required to train independent contractors who work 80 hours and 90 days for the employer.  The State law does not require training of independent contractors but recommends it and makes clear the employer is liable for the behavior of an independent contractor if he/she creates the harassing conduct, just as it is for any third party who unlawfully harasses the employer’s employees.
• 4.     October 9, 2019 is the Deadline.  For 2019, the deadline to train employees under the New York State law is October 9, 2019.  The deadline under the City law is December 31, 2019.  For New York City employers who waited to train employees until the City law was in effect, now is the time to conduct training.   You only have until October 9^th. 

Robert G. Brody is the Founder and Managing Member of Brody and Associates, LLC, a management-side Labor, Employment, and Benefits law firm in Westport, CT.  Co-author, Katherine M. Bogard is a Senior Counsel at the Firm.  If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560.  For more information about Brody and Associates, LLC please visit www.brodyandassociates.com.