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Key Actions to Ensure NYS Sexual Harassment Law Employer Compliance for October 9, 2018 and January 1, 2019 Deadlines

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How Can Employers Ensure Compliance with the New NYS Sexual Harassment Requirements?

With the deadlines to develop and implement NYS-Compliant Sexual Harassment policies and training fast approaching (with only preliminary guidance from NYS at this writing), many employers are unsure of their obligations and/or how to achieve compliance.

Work with Experienced, Qualified and Trusted Employer Advisers to Assure Compliance.

From a quality of compliance standpoint, the first recommendation is to work with employer advisers / resources who have broad and deep experience in successfully training against, investigating and stopping workplace harassment in New York state. For example, a senior HR practitioner with 29 years of the above experience will in all likelihood provide better employer compliance support.

From a priority standpoint, the most immediate / important deadlines to ensure your compliance with the NYS Sexual Harassment Law as an employer (if you have 1 or more employees) are as follows:

  • October 9, 2018 Deadline: Distribute your updated Harassment Policy and your new Harassment Complaint Form that meet or exceed the final NYS guidelines;

 

  • January 1, 2019 Deadline:(actually Monday, December 31, 2018, as almost all employers are closed for the New Year’s Day holiday) Conduct the 1st Annual NYS Mandatory Harassment Prevention Training for all of your current employees that meets or exceeds the final NYS guidelines on or before Monday, December 31, 2018; and

 

  • February 1, 2018 Deadline: Conduct your first Mandatory NYS Harassment Prevention training for all January 2, 2019 New Hires on or before the 30th day after their first day of work, to meet the final NYS guidelines.

 

At this writing, there’s one issue preventing employers from finalizing their preparation for the above deadlines: the NYS required documents and guidelines above are still in draft (not final) form; and the comment period for those drafts ends on September 12, 2018.

 

  • If last year’s (2017) NYS Paid Family Leave final rollout is any indication (issuing final documents and guidelines a few days prior to the employer deadline to implement them), there are still options for employers to prepare for the NYS Harassment Prevention requirements above.

Recommendations:

First priority: focus on updating your current harassment policy with the new draft NYS requirements as well as the new draft NYS Harassment Complaint Form now to prepare for the October 9, 2018 deadline:

 

  • However, documents cannot be finalized / distributed until NYS issues the final requirements on the employer policy and the complaint form;

 

  • With the September 12, 2018 comment period deadline, the October 9, 2018 deadline may in turn be a rushed “photo finish.”

 

  • The recommendation is to draft the updated / new Harassment Prevention Policy and be prepared to quickly finalize and then distribute the new policy and the new Harassment Complaint form separately to employees for the October 9thdeadline; and then update your Employee Handbook thereafter.

Next:

Two potential options for your organization’s 1st Mandatory NYS Annual Harassment Prevention Training to be conducted on or before January 1, 2019:

 

  • Conduct the Harassment Prevention Training before October 9, 2018 that meets the draft guidelines for content and interactive opportunities for employees (especially if your organization has never conducted Harassment Prevention training and you want to minimize liability exposure ASAP given current trends in the greater economy, e.g. #MeToo, etc.). If you’ve already conducted harassment prevention training for your employees in 2018, the recommendation is to use the supplemental training session option, below:

 

  • The interactive training may be conducted in person or via a webinar; and must provide opportunities for employees to ask the trainer questions.

 

  • Then: a shorter supplemental session with the final training information / requirements from NYS will be required after the longer training session (both trainings should have attendance rosters and acknowledgment forms for all employees to sign) to ensure compliance for the first annual training requirement by the January 1, 2018 deadline, e.g. at a staff meeting (best for clients whose busy season is October – December); or

 

  • Wait until after October 9, 2018 to conduct the required NYS Harassment training with all of the final required elements one time only, instead of 2 sessions as outlined above – the deadline to conduct the first annual finalized training is January 1, 2019 – however, the actionable deadline is really December 31, 2018.

 

As I’m sure you’ve read, there are other draft requirements with regard to new guidelines for confidentiality agreements, preventing harassment of non-employees, etc. – however, those requirements are not as time-sensitive as the above deadline-driven requirements and options.

 

As mentioned above, work with a trusted senior HR resource to support your compliance with the new Mandatory NYS Sexual Harassment requirements, with many years of demonstrated experience in the following areas:

 

  • Developing and delivering compliant Harassment Prevention in-person and webinar-based training with many years of actual workplace case studies that meet and/or exceed the NYS draft guidelines, and able to answer all employee questions substantively and accurately;

 

  • Investigating and then taking necessary corrective action to stop workplace harassment at all levels;

 

  • With appropriate legal review by trusted HR lawyers, developing and delivering compliant and effective Anti-Harassment policies (standalone policies and employee handbooks).

 

Whether you work with me or another trusted resource (and I’m also available to recommend other qualified and trusted resources): again, I encourage you to work with resources who possess the depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise to best educate your workforce and answer any questions they may have, while at the same time minimizing your compliance exposure.

 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have, or to schedule a phone call or meeting to address your organization’s compliance needs to fulfill the upcoming mandatory NYS requirements and deadlines, in business and at work.