Recently, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) released the Fact Sheet and Notice referenced in the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act (the “Act”).

As we previously reported, the Act, which was signed into law on May 9, 2018, requires New York City-based employers with at least 15 employees (whether or not all of the employees work in the City) to implement over the course of the next year significant mandates aimed at addressing sexual harassment in the workplace, including posting and fact sheet distribution requirements. The Commission has now followed through with the officially sanctioned notice and poster.

Among other things:

The Notice provides employees with scenarios to help identify discrimination, describes the complaint process with the Commission, and states that retaliation is prohibited. The Notice also recommends that bystanders who witness sexual harassment speak out and report it.

The Fact Sheet provides employees with examples of Sexual Harassment, states that retaliation is prohibited, and provides employees with ways in which they can report sexual harassment in the workplace.

Effective September 6, 2018, all covered employers in NYC must abide by the following Poster and Notice requirements:

Poster:

• The Poster must be conspicuously posted in the workplace in an employee breakroom or in another common area.
• The Poster is required to be a minimum size of 8.5 x 14 inches with a minimum of 12 point font.
• Employers must display the Poster in both English and Spanish, but the English version of the Notice is the only version currently available.
• A copy of the Poster can be found here.

Fact Sheet:

• The Fact Sheet must either be distributed to employees upon hire or incorporated into an employee handbook.
• A copy of the Fact Sheet can be found here.

Blank Rome regularly conducts respectful workplace and harassment training—do not hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to obtain additional information on our offerings.

NYC employers should begin complying with the above requirements as soon as possible to meet the September 6, 2018, deadline. Employers also should be mindful that they must implement sexual harassment training by the April 1, 2019, deadline. The Commission has not yet released online sexual harassment training for employer use, but we will continue to monitor developments and report them as they become available.