NEW YORK, Oct. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to George J. Ramos, Jr., CEO of Compliance Training Group (CTG), a national workplace compliance training firm and a division of Employers Choice Screening (ECS), as of October 9, 2018 all New York state employers must provide an annual sexual harassment prevention training to employees. The training is mandated by Section 201-G of the New York Labor Law, passed by the NY legislature in April 2018, and contains stringent guidelines as set forth by the NYS Department of Labor. Employees must complete the sexual harassment prevention training by January 1, 2019, and any subsequent new hires have 30 days for completion. The new workplace compliance mandate is in response to the growing number of sexual harassment cases that have come to light with the #MeToo movement.
“Sexual harassment reporting has dramatically spiked in 2018,” says Ramos, whose firm is on the front lines in workplace compliance training. “With this mandate by the New York legislature, we fully expect to see other states follow in an effort to decrease employers’ liability and improve employee morale and safety. With the October 9th start date just days away, CTG has opened a new, east coast training office at: 347 5th Avenue, Suite 1402-386, New York, NY 10016, and launched a new, fully-compliant "New York Sexual Harassment Prevention Training.” Our course is available for both supervisors and employees via e-learning modules; live, on-site instructor-led trainings; live webinars, Train-the-Trainer; and SCORM files for employers of all sizes. The New York training will help organizations increase their knowledge and meet the requirements of the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act, and other mandatory regulations for NY employers.”
To help NY employers meet the new mandatory requirements for sexual harassment prevention training, the Department of Labor, in consultation with the Division of Human Rights, has created a model sexual harassment prevention program that employers can use or adapt to their needs. For the training, itself, NY employers must hire qualified trainers or training firms that meet best practices criteria, such as: an HR professional or Harassment Prevention Consultant with a minimum of two years practical experience designing harassment prevention training, responding to harassment complaints, and conducting investigations of sexual harassment complaints; a law school or college professor or instructor with two or more years of experience teaching Employment Law; or an attorney with a minimum of two years’ experience, whose practice includes Employment Law.
Ramos explains, “It’s not uncommon for a trainer to be deposed or required to testify in an arbitration of legal proceeding in litigation matters involving the employer. Therefore, it’s important that the trainer has the appropriate experience and credentials to conduct the training. The trainer’s presentation and training materials must also be fully-compliant and be able to withstand scrutiny because the materials may be requested by defense counsel as part of their legal defense strategy for the employer. With our New York Sexual Harassment Prevention e-learning course, certified by SHRM, and Compliance Training Group recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM‑CP or SHRM‑SCP, HR professionals can utilize it right now and help New York employers meet this imposing deadline.”
Patricia Kotze, CTG’s VP and Senior Executive Trainer adds, “Our Sexual Harassment Prevention e-learning course provides employers, supervisors and managers with practical tools to identify and then intervene in potentially disruptive workplace conduct. It also guides NY supervisors through important federal and state discrimination and sexual harassment laws and applies the laws to real-life workplace scenarios while presenting legal definitions for discrimination and sexual harassment. Supervisors and managers are held responsible and accountable for the actions of their employees, including workplace behavior that constitutes sexual harassment. Further, the Supervisor Edition of our training educates supervisors on how they can become more aware of sexual harassment as well as ways to correct such occurrences.”
For media inquiries, please contact:
Patricia Kotze
Compliance Training Group
Phone: (800) 591-9741
Email: pkotze@ComplianceTrainingGroup.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4aa65001-dc64-45c7-b86e-057bdf10b116