{"id":10998,"date":"2026-06-19T20:21:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/new-york-state-department-of-labor-issues-final-guidance-on-sexual-harassment-prevention-policies-and-training\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T20:21:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:21:37","slug":"new-york-state-department-of-labor-issues-final-guidance-on-sexual-harassment-prevention-policies-and-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/new-york-state-department-of-labor-issues-final-guidance-on-sexual-harassment-prevention-policies-and-training\/","title":{"rendered":"New York State Department of Labor Issues Final Guidance on Sexual Harassment Prevention Policies and Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"contentSummaryCollapse\" style=\"--intro-p-height: 10.3125rem;\">\n<div class=\"inner-collapse\">\n<p><strong>SUMMARY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  As we reviewed in our April 23, 2018 memorandum, available here, New York State enacted this year a sweeping anti-sexual harassment law with anti-sexual harassment training and policy requirements applicable to every employer in New York State.\u00a0 In late August, the New York State Department of Labor issued draft model documents for employer anti-sexual harassment policies and training programs, which we reviewed in our memorandum available here.\u00a0 On October 1, the Department issued final model documents and Frequently Asked Questions, which addressed many of the ambiguities in the original drafts.\u00a0 Most notably, the deadline for the required annual interactive anti-sexual harassment training was extended to October 9, 2019.\u00a0 The State has made all of its materials related to the anti-sexual harassment law available on the internet.<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0 This memorandum summarizes the revised content in the model documents and FAQs.\u00a0<br \/>  \u00a0  <\/p>\n<p><strong>BRIEF OVERVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As we previously reported, all employers in New York State, including non-profit organizations and employers of domestic workers, are required to have in place by October 9, 2018 a compliant anti-sexual harassment policy.The policy may be posted electronically and does not need to be distributed in hard copy so long as the employer provides access to a computer that an employee may use to print a copy of the policy.The policy must be available in a language spoken by the employee.Employers <strong><em>must also provide employees access to a written complaint form<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>All employers in New York State must provide interactive anti-sexual harassment training by October 9, 2019 to all employees (including temporary or part-time employees) who work or will work in New York State.Although the training must be interactive, it does not need to be presented live and it may be web-based.<\/li>\n<li>An employer\u2019s anti-sexual harassment policy and training program need only be provided to employees, although the FAQs state that employers are \u201cencouraged\u201d to provide the policy and training to anyone providing services in the workplace.<\/li>\n<li>All employers in New York are liable for sexual harassment experienced by independent contractors and other non-employees in the employer\u2019s workplace.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>MODEL DOCUMENTS\u00a0\u2013 WHAT&#8217;S NEW<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  The final Model Sexual Harassment Policy contains the following notable changes:    <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>New definitions<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cEmployees\u201d has been defined in relevant part to include \u201call employees, applicants for employment, interns, whether paid or unpaid, contractors and persons conducting business, regardless of immigration status.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNon-employee\u201d is defined in footnote two as \u201csomeone who is (or is employed by) a contractor, subcontractor, vendor, consultant, or anyone providing services in the workplace.\u00a0 Protected non-employees include persons commonly referred to as independent contractors, \u2018gig\u2019 workers and temporary workers.\u00a0 Also included are persons providing equipment repair, cleaning services or any other services provided pursuant to a contract with the employer.\u201d\u00a0 These definitions are notable because they seem to be overlapping.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Employer investigations<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 The final model policy clarifies that investigations of complaints are to be kept \u201cconfidential to the extent possible\u201d and states that the process for employer investigations \u201cmay vary from case to case.\u201d\u00a0 Employer investigations also are no longer required to be finished within 30\u00a0days; rather, the investigation must be \u201cprompt and thorough, commenced immediately and completed as soon as possible.\u201d\u00a0 The model policy also provides that the written documentation of the investigation should not only set forth the corrective actions that will be taken, but the \u201cbasis for the decision\u201d regarding the resolution of the complaint.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Sexual harassment on the basis of \u201cself-identified or perceived sex, [or] gender expression.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Sexual harassment is defined to include harassment on the basis of \u201cself-identified or perceived sex, [or] gender expression,\u201d as well as gender identity and the status of being transgender.\u00a0 In 2016, the NYS Division of Human Rights issued regulations providing that \u201cdiscrimination on the basis of gender identity is sex discrimination\u201d and that the \u201cterm \u2018sex\u2019 when used in the Human Rights Law includes gender identity and the status of being transgender.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cSelf-identified or perceived sex\u201d and \u201cgender expression,\u201d however, were not part of the regulations and appear to be newly asserted here as protected categories.\u00a0 And the \u201cExamples of Sexual Harassment\u201d section now also includes an example that \u201csex stereotyping\u201d\u2014\u201cwhen conduct or personality traits are considered inappropriate simply because they may not conform to other people\u2019s ideas or perceptions about how individuals of a particular sex should act or look\u201d\u2014may be unlawful sexual harassment.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Revised language.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 The updated materials also modified several phrases used in the draft model policy.\u00a0 The references in the draft model policy to an employer having a \u201czero tolerance policy\u201d for sexual harassment and retaliation were removed (consistent with EEOC guidance disfavoring use of that phrase); \u201ctargets\u201d replaced \u201cvictims\u201d to describe persons subjected to sexual harassment and the word \u201charassers\u201d replaced \u201cperpetrators\u201d; and in the description of \u201cRetaliation,\u201d the final model policy states that \u201cthe retaliation provision is not intended to protect persons making intentionally false charges of harassment.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  The final Model Sexual Harassment Prevention Training contains the following notable changes:    <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Training deadline.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 The deadlines for training were changed.\u00a0 All current employees must complete the new training requirement before October 9, 2019 (no longer January 1, 2019) and all \u201cnew employees\u201d should complete the training \u201cas quickly as possible\u201d (no longer \u201cwithin 30 calendar days of their start date\u201d).<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Consistency with model policy.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Parallel modifications were made to the training as was done to the policy (e.g., the training\u2019s section on \u201czero tolerance\u201d was removed; the training\u2019s description of the investigation procedure removes the 30-day deadline).<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Model PowerPoint.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 The October materials now include a PowerPoint presentation that can be used by an employer; the draft documents did not have that available.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  The final Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy Minimum Standards and Minimum Training Standards Checklist remain the same as in the original drafts.\u00a0<br \/>  The final Model Complaint Form is largely similar to the earlier model form, but contains the following notable changes:\u00a0 (1) the form does not ask whether the employee filed a claim with a government agency or a lawsuit in connection with the complaint; (2) the form does not ask whether the employee has hired an attorney; and (3) the form removes certain disclosures to employees concerning their ability to file claims with certain entities or in court\u2014albeit this information is contained in the final model policy.\u00a0 As noted below, employers are not required to provide a copy of the complaint form in their anti-sexual harassment policy to the extent the employer informs its employees where the form may be located (such as the company\u2019s internal website).<br \/>  \u00a0  <\/p>\n<p><strong>FAQS\u2013 WHAT&#8217;S NEW<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  There are several significant updates to the positions taken by the Department of Labor in the final FAQs.    <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Question 2 in the \u201cFor Employers\u201d section of the FAQs states that there is no employer responsibility to train non-employees but notes that the \u201cposting a copy\u201d of the policy \u201cin an area that is highly visible further communicates [the employer\u2019s] effort as a responsible employer.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Question 4 in the \u201cFor Employers\u201d section states that employers are not required to provide the policy to non-employees.It notes, however, that:\u201c[T]<\/li>\n<li>Question 6 in the \u201cFor Employers\u201d section states that employers are not required to include the written complaint form with their sexual harassment policy, but should \u201cbe clear about where the form may be found, for example, on a company\u2019s internal website.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Question 7 in the \u201cTraining\u201d section states that only employees who work in New York State need to be trained, but then also states that \u201cif an individual works a portion of their time in New York State, even if they\u2019re based in another state, they must be trained.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Question 5 in the \u201cFor Employees\u201d section originally took the position that an employer was <em>required<\/em> to inform an \u201cindependent contractor\u201d who performs most of his or her work off the premises of the business of the employer\u2019s sexual harassment policy.In the revised FAQs, the Department now states:\u201cEmployers are <em>encouraged<\/em> to post and make available their Sexual Harassment Prevention policies.You [i.e., the independent contractor] can complain to a supervisor or manager at the employer, file a complaint with the Division of Human Rights, or both.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  <strong>ENDNOTES<\/strong>    <\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The website is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ny.gov\/programs\/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.ny.gov\/programs\/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>  <em><strong>The content of this blog post was originally distributed on October 10 as an S&amp;C Publication.<\/strong><\/em><br \/>  \u00a0\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SUMMARY As we reviewed in our April 23, 2018 memorandum, available here, New York State enacted this year a sweeping anti-sexual harassment law with anti-sexual harassment training and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[462,1365,3798,1532,2684,3276,4612,7222,301,1911,588,326],"class_list":["post-10998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawyers","tag-department","tag-final","tag-guidance","tag-harassment","tag-issues","tag-labor","tag-policies","tag-prevention","tag-sexual","tag-state","tag-training","tag-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}