New York Employment Law Update – May 2018

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Minnesota Employment Law Update – May 2018
May 21, 2018
Job applicants have disparate impact claim based on age, court says
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Minnesota Employment Law Update – May 2018
May 21, 2018

Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act

On May 9, 2018, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a packet of 11 bills, Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act, to combat workplace sexual harassment. Under the act, all private NYC employers are required to comply with the following, listed chronologically:

  • Effective July 8, 2018, a city contractor must include its workplace sexual harassment prevention policy (to include practices, policies, and procedures for prevention) as part of its employment report for city contracts.
  • By August 7, 2018, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) will post sexual harassment resources on its website, including a workplace required poster and interactive training programs for employer-use.
  • Effective September 6, 2018, employers must post the NYCCHR’s poster explaining that sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination under local law, anti-sexual harassment rights, and legal responsibilities under the law. Employers must also distribute an information sheet on sexual harassment to new hires.
  • Effective April 1, 2019, private employers with 15 or more employees must conduct annual, interactive anti-sexual harassment training for all employees. This includes training for interns, managerial employees, and supervisory employees. Training will be required after the 90th day of employment. An employee who has received anti-sexual harassment training at one employer within the required training cycle will not be required to receive additional anti-sexual harassment training at another employer until the next cycle. Employers must maintain training records for at least three years, including signed employee acknowledgement forms.

Additionally, and effective immediately, the act expanded the sexual harassment protections under the NYC Human Rights Law as follows:

  • Gender-based discrimination is prohibited by all employers, regardless of the number of employees.
  • Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that the NYCCHR has the power to eliminate and prevent.
  • The statute of limitations for filing harassment claims based on unwelcome conduct that intimidates, interferes with, oppresses, threatens, humiliates, or degrades a person based on gender is increased to three years from the time that the alleged harassment occurred.

Public entities are also required to comply with these anti-harassment requirements along with additional training requirements.

The packet of 11 bills are as follows: Intro. 612-A, 613-A, 614-A, 630-A, 632-A, 664-A, 653-A, 657-A, 660-A, 663-A, and 693. Find the 11 bills here (enter the bill number in the search box).

Read the NYC Council press release and the Mayor’s press release

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