Requirement guide · New York

New York sexual harassment training requirements

New York State requires every employer to train every employee each year under Labor Law 201-g. New York City adds its own rules for employers with 15 or more employees under Administrative Code 8-107(30).

Last reviewed 22 October 2026 · Not legal advice

The short answer

Who
State: every employer, of any size, for every employee working in New York State. NYC: employers with 15 or more employees, for staff working in the city
When
At least once a year. State: new hires as soon as possible. NYC: required after 90 days for anyone working more than 80 hours a year
What
State: the minimum standards in Labor Law 201-g. NYC: eight required topics, including bystander intervention
How
Must be interactive. Online counts if learners answer questions, ask questions or give feedback
Language
State: policy, notice and training in English and the employee's primary language where the State publishes a model
Records
NYC: records with a signed acknowledgment, kept 3 years. State: records recommended, not required

Who needs the training

New York State. Every employer in the state must train every employee each year, whatever its size. The State's employer guidance says this includes a household with one nanny or housekeeper. "Employee" covers exempt and non-exempt, part-time, seasonal and temporary workers, regardless of immigration status. Staff who work only outside New York State do not need it, but anyone who works part of their time in the state does.

New York City. Employers with 15 or more employees must also train staff employed in the city, including supervisors and managers. Interns count as employees. The NYC Commission on Human Rights counts staff at any point in the current or previous calendar year, counts staff based outside the city and independent contractors towards the 15, and also applies the rule to employers of one or more domestic workers.

In NYC, someone who works more than 80 hours in a calendar year and for at least 90 days must be trained. People below either threshold do not have to be.

What the training must cover

Under Labor Law 201-g, an employer can use the State's model training or its own, as long as it meets or exceeds these minimum standards. The training must:

  1. Be interactive
  2. Explain sexual harassment consistent with State guidance
  3. Give examples of unlawful sexual harassment
  4. Cover the federal and state laws on sexual harassment and the remedies available to targets
  5. Cover employees' rights of redress and all forums for bringing a complaint
  6. Address conduct by supervisors and their additional responsibilities

The State's model, updated in April 2023, goes further: it covers gender identity and expression, remote work and five methods of bystander intervention. The State calls the model a baseline and strongly recommends its extra sections, but only the list above is required by statute. In New York, harassment does not need to be severe or pervasive to be unlawful; it is enough that it rises above petty slights or trivial inconveniences.

For staff in New York City, 8-107(30) requires these topics as a minimum:

  1. Sexual harassment as unlawful discrimination under NYC law
  2. That it is also unlawful under state and federal law
  3. What sexual harassment is, with examples
  4. Your internal complaint process
  5. The complaint processes of the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the NYS Division of Human Rights and the EEOC, with contact details
  6. The ban on retaliation, with examples
  7. Bystander intervention, including resources that explain how to do it
  8. Supervisors' and managers' responsibilities for preventing harassment and retaliation, and how they should handle complaints

A single course can meet both lists if it covers every item on each. We publish separate templates for New York State and New York City.

How often

Both the State and the City require training at least once a year. The State lets you choose the cycle: calendar year, each employee's start anniversary or another date you pick. Training an employee received from a previous employer or temporary help agency in the same calendar year can be accepted.

For new hires, State law sets no deadline, but the State encourages training as soon as possible because employers can be liable from day one. NYC law requires training after 90 days of initial hire for employees who work more than 80 hours in a calendar year.

Can it be done online?

Yes, if it is interactive. Both the State and the City say a live trainer is not required. The State's guidance gives these examples, and any one of them meets the requirement:

  • Web-based training with questions at the end of a section that the learner must answer correctly
  • Web-based training where learners can submit a question and get an answer immediately or in a timely manner
  • In-person or live training where the presenter asks questions or gives time for questions
  • A feedback survey that learners complete after the training

Watching a video or reading a document with no feedback or interaction is not interactive. NYC law defines interactive training as participatory teaching, which can be a computer or online programme, and says it does not have to be live or led in person.

Training time counts as work time. Both the State and the NYC Commission say employees must be paid for it.

Language rules

Under the State law, you must give employees your written policy and a copy of the training materials at hire and at every annual training, in English and in the employee's primary language if the State publishes a model in that language. The State lists Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Haitian-Creole, Bengali, Urdu, French, Italian, Japanese, Hindi, Albanian and Greek. For other languages, the State strongly encourages you to provide the policy and training in the language the employee speaks.

The NYC Commission says training must be accessible to employees with disabilities and to those who speak a language other than English.

Who can deliver it

Anyone: your own staff or managers, or a third-party provider. Neither the State nor the City certifies trainers or training. You are responsible for checking that a third-party course meets the minimum standards.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights publishes a free online training that it says meets both the City and State requirements, as long as you also tell employees about your internal complaint process.

What records to keep

New York City: keep a record of all trainings, including a signed employee acknowledgment, which may be electronic. Keep records for at least three years and make them available to the Commission on request.

New York State: no signed acknowledgment is required, but the State encourages you to keep one and a copy of training records, because they help if a complaint or lawsuit follows.

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