On August 23, 2018, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced proposed guidelines for complying with the state’s newly-enacted legislation addressing sexual harassment in the workplace through education and prevention. Those guidelines, which include a model sexual harassment prevention policy, a model sexual harassment prevention training program, and a model sexual harassment complaint form, are available on the New York government website at: https://www.ny.gov/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace/employers and are open for public comment until September 12, 2018. The guidelines also provide minimum standards for sexual harassment prevention policies and training. All employers must either adopt the model policy or put in place a customized version that meets or exceeds the minimum standards by October 9, 2018. All current employees and contractors must also complete anti-harassment training by January 1, 2019, with new hires after that date to complete training within 30 days.

New York employers should promptly review their employment policies and prepare to conduct annual anti-sexual harassment training to ensure compliance with the new laws. If you require any assistance in complying with the new laws, need to have your current policies reviewed or updated, or want to develop a customized training program tailored to your unique business needs, please contact Labor & Employment attorney Alice Yu, our New York licensed employment attorney, or your Kilpatrick Townsend attorney. We would be pleased to assist you as needed.