October 2018 implementation is too soon for small business
In April, New York State passed legislation requiring businesses including even very small companies, to implement policies designed to prevent workplace harassment.
The New Law
The changes will impact both public and private employers. Many employers will have to revise their employment policies, procedures and agreements, deliver new training and provide employees with additional information about sexual harassment. Also, the new provisions will affect state contracts, mandatory arbitration clauses, and mandatory nondisclosure agreements, and more.
The New York State Department of Labor is accepting public comments from the business community. NFIB encourages its members to ask that the implementation is delayed and provide comments on any aspect of the draft documents that are publicly available. The Department of Labor’s draft documents can be found here: https://www.ny.gov/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace/employers
How to Comment
Please click on the following link to comment. Feel free to use the sample letter below as a guide that can be personalized and pasted into the comment form:
https://www.ny.gov/content/sexual-harassment-prevention-policies
Sample Comments:
I am a small business owner in New York State who takes the well-being and safety of my employees seriously. Workplace harassment is a serious issue that deserves attention. This year, New York State passed a series of new workplace and sexual harassment policy and training requirements that will go into effect on October 9.
Draft model documents were just recently made available for public review and comment, but I am concerned that there is not enough time for the Department of Labor to hear all the concerns about these documents and provide final model policies that can be appropriately implemented in the required time frame.
Small businesses like mine pride ourselves on providing the best workplace and want to comply with these new state requirements, but I am asking the New York State Department of Labor to delay the October 9, 2018, effective date.
Small businesses drive New York State’s economy, but our operations and staffing are not on the same scale as larger corporations. We need more time to understand, implement and comply with new state mandates like this. Pushing back the effective date to ensure there is enough time to implement model sexual harassment policies and training is the right thing to do for New York’s employers and employees.
Thank you for your consideration.
