New York law mandates that every employer maintain a harassment-free workplace, provide training, and respond promptly to complaints. Our employment lawyer helps ensure these obligations are met — and holds employers accountable when they’re not.
New York employers must maintain workplaces free from sexual harassment. Many employers fail to meet these requirements, leaving employees vulnerable. Knowing what employers should be doing helps you recognize when they’ve fallen short.
At Megan Thomas Law, we help victims hold employers accountable when they fail to provide the safe workplace that New York law requires.
New York has stronger anti-harassment laws than federal standards. Employers in New York must follow several key laws:
Unlike federal law, New York State law:
When employers fail their legal duties, employees have the right to take action – creating safer workplaces for everyone.
All employers in New York, regardless of size, must meet these obligations:
Since October 2018, all New York employers must have a written sexual harassment prevention policy that:
The policy must be in the employee’s primary language and distributed to all employees. The NYS Department of Labor provides model policies, though companies can create their own that meet requirements.
If your employer lacks a clear policy or their policy misses required elements, this failure can strengthen a harassment case. Request a copy if you haven’t received one.
Every employer must provide interactive sexual harassment prevention training annually to all employees. This training must:
Training must be in the employee’s language, and employers must keep records of completion. The NYS Division of Human Rights offers model training materials.
New employees should receive training quickly after hiring. Even temporary workers must receive training. Missing or inadequate training can help establish employer liability in harassment cases.
When harassment is reported, employers must:
Employers cannot dismiss complaints without investigation, delay responding, or conduct biased investigations. They cannot require non-disclosure agreements when filing complaints. NYC employers with 15+ employees must keep complaint records for at least three years under the 2018 Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act.
Rushed, biased, or incomplete investigations often provide strong evidence of employer liability in harassment cases.
Supervisors have additional responsibilities:
In New York, employers are automatically liable for supervisor harassment that results in negative employment actions (“strict liability”), even without a formal complaint.
For harassment by co-workers, employers are liable if they knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take action.
Employers may need to provide accommodations to harassment victims, especially if the harassment caused mental health conditions. These may include:
These accommodations are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act and NYS Human Rights Law for conditions like anxiety or PTSD resulting from harassment.
Employers cannot punish employees for:
Retaliation can include termination, demotion, reduced hours/pay, negative reviews, undesirable assignments, increased scrutiny, or exclusion from opportunities.
Employers who fail to meet these obligations face:
Damages can include back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
The NYS Division of Human Rights can also order employers to change policies, provide training, post notices of violations, and report on compliance efforts.
If your employer fails to meet these obligations, you can:
If your employer has failed to meet these legal obligations, Megan Thomas Law can help you:
With personal experience of workplace harassment, Megan Thomas brings unique insight and determination to these cases.
Contact us for a confidential consultation to discuss your situation and options for holding employers accountable.
*The information provided in this post is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Viewing this post, commenting, or engaging with it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
This can strengthen your case by showing the employer knew their obligations but deliberately disregarded them. Document specific instances where company actions contradicted their written policy.
No. Employers must provide multiple reporting channels, especially if the supervisor might be the harasser.
All New York employers must comply with state anti-harassment laws, regardless of size. Even companies with just one employee must have policies, provide training, and prevent harassment.
Yes. Employers must protect employees from harassment by non-employees, including customers, clients, and vendors.
While employers may limit details about disciplinary actions, they should tell you whether your complaint was substantiated and if corrective action was taken. Complete secrecy may indicate an inadequate investigation.
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