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Last week the New York State budget was signed into law by Governor Cuomo. The budget includes several sexual harassment laws for New York employers to put into practice at various effective dates.
Effective immediately, “non-employees,” which include vendors, contractors, subcontractors, and consultants, are protected against sexual harassment under New York’s Human Rights Law. Employers can be held liable if one of these parties is being harassed at the employer’s workplace and the employer fails to take action to stop the harassment.
Beginning July 11, 2018, the use of nondisclosure clauses will be prohibited in the case of court settlements or sexual harassment claims. This can be excepted if the claimant prefers to keep the confidentiality clause in tact.
Starting October 9, 2018, employers must distribute anti-harassment policies in writing to all employees, and must provide yearly anti-harassment training. Both the written policies and the training will be developed and published by the New York State Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights. A “standard complaint form” for employees to use for sexual harassment claims must also be developed and published by employers.
For employers that bid on state contracts, as of January 1, 2019, those bids must include verbiage that the employer has distributed the written anti-harassment policy to its workers, and that the annual anti-harassment training has been implemented.
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