On May 9, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed multiple bills into law providing greater employee protections against sexual harassment, and expanding employer obligations, as follows.
- Effective May 9, 2018, Int. 657-A applied protections for gender-based harassment claims to all employees, regardless of employer size, where it previously only applied to employers with four or more employees.
- Effective May 9, 2018, Int. 663-A extends the statute of limitations for filing an administrative claim with the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) for gender-based harassment from one to three years after the date the alleged harassing conduct occurred.
- Effective September 6, 2018, Int. 630-A requires all employers to post an anti-sexual harassment rights and responsibilities poster in common areas employees gather, in both English and Spanish (other languages will be made available). Employers must also provide new hires with an information sheet on sexual harassment, to be made available by the NYCCHR. An equivalent of the information sheet may be included in an employee handbook.
- Effective April 1, 2019, Int. 632-A requires employers with 15 or more employees to conduct annual sexual harassment training for all employees, supervisors, and interns who work more than 80 hours in a calendar year in New York City. The training must be provided after the first 90 days of hire. Employees who received training at a prior employer within the required training cycle are not required to receive training again at a new employer until the next cycle. Although the training may be given either in-person or online, the training must be interactive. Training content must comply with the similar, recently enacted New York state law, as well as the additional requirements set forth in Int. 632-A. Employers must keep records of employee trainings for at least three years, including a signed employee acknowledgment.
