NY State Health Policies | Complete Payroll

How to Stop Buddy Punching - Complete Payroll

Download Your Video

Mel ne liber neglegentur, viderer habemus hendrerit ei vim. Mei saperet mediocrem ei. No nec dico soleat epicuri. Modo disputando in ius, per at liber omnesque intellegam. Legere facilis cu est. Has an elit dicta veritus, mucius legendos gubergren no sed

Click here to download.

NYS Sexual Harassment Prevention Complaint Form - Complete Payroll

Download Your Policy

Click here to download.

Requirements Overview

Here's a quick overview of the requirements all employers must meet under the New York State Sexual Harassment Prevention Law.

Employer Overview

Policy

Employee's Complaint Form

Training

Overview

New York State has issued new requirements designed to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The key components of the law are as follows:

Employers must establish a formal sexual harassment prevention policy and share it with all employees.
The policy must also include and share a complaint form with employees that can be used to file formal sexual harassment complaints.
Employers must also provide mandatory sexual harassment prevention training to all employees on an annual basis.

1. Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy

Every employer in New York State is required to adopt a formal sexual harassment prevention policy by October 9, 2018, according to the new law. In consultation with the Division of Human Rights, the New York State Department of Labor has established a model sexual harassment prevention policy for employers to adopt.

Employers may also choose to adopt their own policy, provided it meets or exceeds the minimum standards of the model policy issued by New York State.

2. Sexual Harassment Complaint Form

New York State also requires the sexual harassment prevention policy to include a formal complaint form that must be shared with all employees by October 9, 2018. If an employee believes they have become a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, the are encouraged to complete this form. Even if the employee reports the sexual harassment verbally or through another manner, employers are still required to complete the complaint form on the employee's behalf.

New York State has not released any minimum guidelines for the complaint form, which leads us to believe - unlike for the policy and training requirements - employers must use the formal complaint form issued by the state and therefore may not adopt their own version of it.

3. Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

Additionally, all employers in New York State are required to provide mandatory sexual harassment prevention training to all employees on an annual basis, effective October 9, 2019. Just like the model policy and complaint form, New York State has also released a sexual harassment prevention training model.

Employers may also choose to implement their own annual sexual harassment prevention training, provided it meets or exceeds the minimum standards developed by the New York State Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights.

Basic Requirements

Every employer in New York State is required to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and share it with all employees by October 9, 2018. There are two ways to accomplish this:

Employers may simply use the model policy issued by New York State.
Or, employers may adopt their own sexual harassment prevention policy, provided it meets or exceeds the minimum standards established by New York State.

We've outlined how employers can do each below.

Using the Model Policy

In consultation with the Division of Human Rights, the New York State Department of Labor has established a model sexual harassment prevention policy for employers to adopt. Using this policy would ensure compliance for this specific component of the law.

Developing Your Own Policy - Minimum Standards

As previously stated, employers may adopt their own sexual harassment prevention policy, provided it meets or exceeds the minimum standards established by New York State.

According to the minimum standards issued by New York State, the sexual harassment prevention policy must:

prohibit sexual harassment consistent with guidance issued by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Division of Human Rights.
provide examples of prohibited conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment.
include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment, remedies available to victims of sexual harassment, and a statement that there may be applicable local laws.
include a complaint form.
include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints that ensures due process for all parties.
inform employees of their rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating sexual harassment complaints administratively and judicially.
clearly state that sexual harassment is considered a form of employee misconduct and that sanctions will be enforced against individuals engaging in sexual harassment and against supervisory and managerial personnel who knowingly allow such behavior to continue.
clearly state that retaliation against individuals who complain of sexual harassment or who testify or assist in any investigation or proceeding involving sexual harassment is unlawful.

Poster Notice - Recommended

New York State has also given employers an added ability to direct both employees and non-employees to their sexual harassment prevention policy through a labor law notice. This poster, which is an optional tool, should be displayed in a highly visible area within the workplace, likely next to wherever your current labor law poster(s) are displayed.

You can download the sexual harassment prevention policy poster notice here.

Download and Use the Complaint Form

About the Employee Training Requirements

All employers in New York State are required to provide mandatory sexual harassment prevention training to all employees on an annual basis, effective October 9, 2019. Just like the model policy and complaint form, New York State has also released a sexual harassment prevention training model.

Using the Model Training

In consultation with the Division of Human Rights, the New York State Department of Labor has established model sexual harassment prevention training for employers to adopt. Using this training would ensure compliance for this specific component of the law.

The videos below, which may be watched via YouTube or downloaded, meet all state minimum training requirements except one: the videos alone are NOT considered interactive. If you are using this video to meet the training requirements, you must also:

ask questions of employees as part of the program;
accommodate questions asked by employees, with answers provided in a timely manner;
or require feedback from employees about the training and the materials presented.

During this interactive portion, employers should be prepared to address questions raised by employees including those specific to their industry, questions about the organization’s reporting process and questions about how hypothetical cases would be handled.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Presentation Slide Decks

New York State has also provided presentation slide decks - in both PDF and PowerPoint formats - for employers that choose to administer the training themselves. It is important to note that these presentation decks alone are not enough to satisfy the training requirements. Before administering the sexual harassment prevention training with employees, employers must read the model training guidelines (above) to ensure the training sessions themselves meet the standards required by New York State.

Conducting Your Own Training - Minimum Standards

As previously stated, employers may conduct their own sexual harassment prevention training, provided it meets or exceeds the minimum standards established by New York State.

According to the minimum standards issued by New York State, the sexual harassment prevention training must:

be interactive.
include an explanation of sexual harassment consistent with guidance issued by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Division of Human Rights.
include examples of conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment .
include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment.
include information concerning employees’ rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating complaints.
include information addressing conduct by supervisors and any additional responsibilities for such supervisors.

Each employee must receive training on an annual basis, starting October 9, 2018.

Download our employer compliance checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Browse the answers to frequently asked questions about the policy, training and general employer matters. We sourced these questions and answers directly from the New York State website here.

How can employers provide their policy to employees?

Is there any employer responsibility to train third-party vendors or other non-employees who interact one-time or regularly in an office located in New York State?

What should I do if a temporary employee is being harassed by an employee of another company?

What policy, if any, must be provided to contractors, subcontractors, vendors and consultants?

If an employer already has established investigative procedures which are similar, but not identical to those provided in the model, can the employer deviate from these specific requirements and remain compliant with the law?

Does the complaint form need to be included, in full, in the policy?

Who is considered an Employee for the training requirement? And when does the training need to be completed?

How often must employees receive sexual harassment training?

How soon do new employees need to be trained?

If an employer has previously provided training that meets or exceeds the requirements, must employees be retrained?

Is there a minimum number of training hours employees must complete each year?

What are the obligations of employment agencies? What about employees who received the same training from another employer within the past year?

I am an employer based in New York State but also have employees who only work in other states. Do they need to be trained as well?

Are minor employees (e.g., child actors) required to take sexual harassment training?

What does “interactive training” mean?

Is a live trainer required and does a trainer need to have a certification?

May I use a third-party vendor to provide training? How do I ensure it meets the standards?

Are there different training requirements for employees in managerial/supervisory roles?

What happens if some employees fail to take the training despite an employer’s best efforts to make it available, and to require everyone to take it?

Are businesses required to pay workers for the time spent in training, for instance, during the onboarding process before their actual assignment begins?

ABC Demo Company

On this page you can find your customized Sexual Harassment Prevention training video and policy. We've also included a requirements overview for your reminder as well as an FAQ section to help you along the way.