Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has released draft guidance on the state’s recently enacted sexual harassment prevention legislation, which goes into effect Oct. 8 for all New York businesses—including federally and state-chartered credit unions.
On April 12, Cuomo signed into law the 2019 New York State Budget, which included a provision updating the state’s sexual harassment laws.
The released documents include minimum standards for sexual harassment prevention policies and sexual harassment prevention training; a model sexual harassment policy; a model complaint form; a model sexual harassment prevention training; and a set of frequently-asked-questions.
The documents are in draft form and could change prior to the Oct. 8 implementation of the law.
Notably, the law stipulates that employers must provide sexual harassment training to all current employees by Jan. 1, 2019. Employees who begin working for a company after Jan. 1 must receive the training within 30 days of beginning employment. Additionally, employers will be required to provide employees with their policy in writing. The policies must meet the minimum standards outlined in the guidance.
For more information, view the New York state website.