While there have long been idiosyncrasies in New York state, city and local anti-discrimination laws, New York’s laws against sexual harassment have traditionally mirrored federal standards, and thus sexual harassment claims brought under New York state law were “analyzed identically” to their federal counterparts. See Heskin v. InSite Aver., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2546, *40, 2005 WL 407646 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2005). Recently, however, in the wake of the #MeToo movement and other widespread focus on sexual and gender-based abuse, New York has adopted a number of legislative measures which break from the federal standards, seeking to more aggressively combat sexual harassment. These changes have come quickly, and employers operating in New York should be aware of them to ensure that they are adopting the policies necessary to comply with the new requirements.

Sexual Harassment Policies and Training Requirements

In 2018, the New York legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo enacted anti-sexual harassment reforms which impose stringent requirements for employers with respect to both sexual harassment policies and training.