Employers: Final Tips for Successfully Implementing NYS Sexual Harassment Compliance Requirements by October 9, 2018

Distribute the NYS Model Policy & Complaint Form by close of business on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 – Include at least 1 Internal and 1 external 3^rd party complaint / investigation contact (cell phone number recommended for voice & text):

• One silver lining from a client: distributing the attached information which specifically includes how to handle non-employee complainants and harassers; and identifying me as a third-party complaint and investigation contact helped to meet 2 key requirements from their Employee Practices Liability Insurance carrier.

• Yes, distributing the NYS Sexual Harassment Complaint form is mandatory, too.

Signed Employee Receipt Acknowledgment Strongly Recommended:

The documents can be distributed hard-copy or electronically; it’s strongly recommended that you obtain a signed receipt acknowledgment from each employee in the event of future audit, potentially carrying similar audit importance to the Wage Theft Protection Act Form. The acknowledgment form I created for clients includes the phrase Distributed On or Before October 9, 2018.

Don’t Forget Your New Employees Hired On or After October 9, 2018:

After you distribute the mandated NYS Sexual Harassment Prevention documents by close of business, October 9, 2018: all new hires must receive the same documents (including but not limited to signing and returning the receipt acknowledgment) on or before their first day of employment.

NYS Contractors: Tighter Requirements:

FYI: Contractors responding to NYS Request for Proposals (RFPs) as of / after January 1, 2019 must attest to completing their 1^st  mandatory NYS annual employee harassment prevention training before responding to a NYS RFP as of / after January 1, 2019.

• If you don’t plan on ever responding to NYS RFPs, you have until October 2019 to complete your first Mandatory Annual Employee Harassment Prevention training. If your employees have never had harassment prevention training, the recommendation is to conduct the training sooner than next October 2019.

You can distribute the information via hard-copy or electronically (and use employee electronic signature if needed).

Are you ready to comply with the NYS Sexual Harassment deadline requirement by close of business on Tuesday, October 9, 2018, in business and at work?