sexual harassment policy

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On April 12, 2018, New York State  Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law new measures aimed at preventing sexual harassment. We summarized these provisions in detail in our legal update, New York employers should get ready to comply with New York State’s new sexual harassment prevention laws, published on April 11th, in anticipation of the bill being signed into law.  The new law requires New York State employers to adopt sexual harassment prevention policies and conduct annual training on such policies, restricts the use of non-disclosure and arbitration provisions related to claims of sexual harassment, and extends workplace protections against sexual harassment to non-employees.  The new law requires prompt action on the part of most, if not all, New York State employers.

Mandatory sexual harassment prevention policies and training

Effective October 9, 2018, every New York State employer (regardless of size and including those who employ only domestic and household employees) will be required to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy that meets specified requirements.  New York State employers who currently have anti-harassment policies in place will likely need to update their policies, as most policies that we have seen do not cover every item that is required by the new law.

As we are all aware, the news has been populated with stories concerning allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, particularly in the entertainment and media industries as well as government institutions. These stories have contributed to the “#MeToo” movement, which originated on Twitter and other social media websites in late 2017 and has since become a widespread message on social media encouraging individuals to share their stories and speak out against sexual harassment and abuse. But while its purposes are laudable, the #MeToo movement is a touchy subject for employers, who ever-more-frequently find themselves accused of sexual harassment or other misconduct on social media and must grapple with the implications of publicly aired grievances.