As we find ourselves in the midst of summer, employers in New York should keep an eye on the upcoming October 9th deadline for providing anti-harassment training to all employees.

As we previously reported, effective October 9, 2018, all New York State employers are required to adopt written sexual harassment prevention policies and institute annual anti-harassment training for employees. To satisfy the training requirements, employers may either: (1) adopt the State’s model training script, slides, and/or case studies; or (2) provide other live training or interactive online/video training that meets or exceeds the law’s minimum standards for training. Employers must train all employees – including exempt, non-exempt, part-time, seasonal and temporary employees – on or before October 9, 2019. And, according to the State’s guidance, employers also need to train employees who “work[] a portion of their time in New York State, even if they’re based in another state.”

As a reminder, employers in New York City must also comply with the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act’s training requirements, which went into effect on April 1, 2019. While there are many similarities between the State and City law requirements – including the requirement that the training be interactive – the City law also requires that employees be trained on bystander intervention. And like the State’s guidance, the City’s guidance similarly extends an employer’s training obligation to employees who are connected to New York City “in any way.” This includes (1) employees who work or will work in New York City; (2) employees who work a portion of their time in New York City; and (3) employees who are based elsewhere but who interact with other employees in New York City (even if they are not physically present in the City). Although employers in New York City have until December 31, 2019 to comply with the City law, employers should consider providing training now that complies with the requirements of both the State and City laws.

As always, Proskauer attorneys are standing by to provide guidance and answer questions you have about these requirements.

Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
Tags: Harassment, new york, sexual harassment, training
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Photo of Arielle E. Kobetz Arielle E. Kobetz

Arielle E. Kobetz is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employment Counseling & Training Group. Her practice focuses on providing clients with strategies and counseling related to a variety of workplace-related disputes, including employee terminations…

Arielle E. Kobetz is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employment Counseling & Training Group. Her practice focuses on providing clients with strategies and counseling related to a variety of workplace-related disputes, including employee terminations and discipline, leave and accommodation requests, and general employee relations matters. She also counsels clients on developing, implementing and enforcing personnel policies and procedures and reviewing and revising employee handbooks under federal, state and local law.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Arielle served as a law clerk at the New York City Human Resources Administration, Employment Law Unit, where she worked on a variety of employment discrimination and internal employee disciplinary issues.

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Photo of Evandro Gigante Evandro Gigante

Evandro is the go-to employment litigator and counselor when clients face their most challenging, bet the reputation claims, or want to develop policies and practices that mitigate legal risk. As an award-winning partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, member of the…

Evandro is the go-to employment litigator and counselor when clients face their most challenging, bet the reputation claims, or want to develop policies and practices that mitigate legal risk. As an award-winning partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, member of the Employment Litigation group, and co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity group, he represents clients on a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of sexual harassment, race, gender, national origin, disability and religious discrimination. In addition, Evandro handles restrictive covenant matters, including non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret disputes. Evandro also counsels employers through the most sensitive employment issues, including matters involving employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

With a focus on discrimination and harassment claims, Evandro has extensive experience defending clients before federal and state courts. He tries cases before juries and arbitrators and routinely represents clients before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state and local human rights commissions. Evandro often draws on his extensive litigation experience to help clients avoid the courtroom by effectuating positive change in the workplace through impactful anti-discrimination and harassment training, as well as robust employment policies.

Working in a wide range of industries, Evandro has experience representing clients in professional services, including law firms, financial services, including private equity and hedge funds, higher education, sports, media, retail, and others. Evandro also advises charter schools and other not-for-profit organizations on labor and employment matters on a pro bono basis.

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