Sexual Harassment Training Requirements

Training Isn't Just a Checklist, It's Your First Line of Protection

Most employees never expect harassment training to matter, until something happens. It’s easy to treat it like another HR formality, but when workplace harassment becomes real, that training (or lack of it) can shape what happens next. 

Whether you're in a skyscraper in Manhattan or a small business in Ithaca, your employer is legally required to do more than just hand out a policy.

Our employment law attorneys at Horn Wright, LLP, hold employers accountable when they fail to deliver the training New York law requires. And if you're reading from New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, your state’s training rules may differ slightly, but our attorneys know how to handle these claims across all four states. 

Some states let smaller businesses opt out of formal programs or leave more discretion to employers, which can make proving noncompliance tougher without legal support.

New York Makes Sexual Harassment Training Mandatory, No Exceptions

Under Section 201-g of the New York State Labor Law, every employer, no matter the size, must provide sexual harassment prevention training. This law doesn’t just apply to large corporations. 

Even if your workplace has two employees, it still has to meet these training standards every single year. If your employer skipped this requirement, ignored updates, or handed you a vague PowerPoint without interaction, that’s negligence.

New York’s model includes specific elements: definitions of sexual harassment, examples of unacceptable behavior, employee rights, complaint procedures, and information on retaliation. 

Employers must also provide this training in the employee’s preferred language. It’s not optional. And failure to do so can help strengthen your claim, especially if harassment later occurs and you weren’t prepared.

Our employment law practice has worked with clients across Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, and beyond who were never trained properly. When the culture of silence begins at the top, the damage trickles down fast.

What Your Employer Must Teach You Under the Law

The state’s required content isn’t just “suggested” best practices. It’s law. Every employee should walk away from their annual training knowing what behavior crosses the line, what to do if it happens, and how to report it safely.

• Definitions of sexual harassment must be clear and specific. This includes both hostile work environments and quid pro quo conduct. Ambiguous language isn’t good enough. It has to define the conduct in practical terms. If your training didn’t explain what harassment really looks like, it likely failed to meet legal standards. Vague or sugarcoated content leaves employees unprepared and vulnerable.
• Employers must give examples of inappropriate behavior. Realistic scenarios help people identify red flags before they escalate. If your employer skipped this step or rushed through it, you were left without guidance. Clear examples create a safer workplace by showing what won’t be tolerated. New York’s model policy even offers sample cases employers should include.
• Training has to explain reporting procedures. It must outline who to contact, what happens after a report, and how retaliation will be handled. If your employer didn’t explain this, they failed one of the core legal requirements. Employees deserve to know what protections they’ll receive if they speak up. Without this step, fear and silence spread.
• The law requires training on retaliation protections. Employees must be told that reporting won’t lead to punishment, demotion, or bullying. If that wasn’t emphasized during training, your employer didn’t comply. These protections are essential to preventing a toxic culture. The absence of this topic often leads to fear-based silence among staff.
• Interactive training is mandatory. Not just a video. New York requires that employees have the chance to ask questions and interact. Watching a video alone doesn’t count. If your employer skipped the interactive part, the training wasn’t legally complete. Interactivity gives employees a voice and ensures they understand their rights.

Small Businesses Aren’t Off the Hook

Many employees working for small businesses wrongly believe the law doesn’t apply to them. But in New York, there’s no “small company” exception. Whether you’re working at a corner deli in Yonkers or a startup in Troy, the training law still applies. We’ve seen too many employers try to cut corners under the assumption no one will notice.

If your small business employer didn’t provide training, you may not have known how to respond when harassment began. That’s not your fault. Lack of compliance with the law shows that the employer failed you, and possibly created an unsafe workplace. 

When we take on these cases, our employment law attorneys don’t just pursue accountability. We expose patterns.

And sometimes, one person’s case reveals a widespread problem. Training failures often go hand in hand with policy violations, negligent supervision, and toxic workplace culture.

When Training Is a Joke, It’s a Legal Red Flag

Some employers do the bare minimum just to check a box. But in the eyes of the law, half-hearted or superficial training doesn’t count. We’ve seen “sessions” that lasted 10 minutes, contained zero interactivity, or were led by someone with no real knowledge of the law. That’s not prevention. It’s protection for the company, not the people.

• Training must be repeated annually. If your employer only trained you once, years ago, that’s a problem. The law requires this training every year for a reason. Regular repetition helps reinforce what’s appropriate and what’s not. Skipping years sends the message that harassment isn’t taken seriously.
• Supervisors need separate training content. Managers and supervisors must receive training that includes how to handle complaints and prevent retaliation. If they didn’t, it weakens the entire reporting process. These individuals play a critical role in keeping the workplace safe. Their lack of proper training often leads to bigger failures down the line.
• Employers must track and prove completion. If there’s no documentation that you were trained, it’s as if it never happened. Your employer should maintain signed acknowledgments or system records. Without proof, their claim of compliance can fall apart in court. Missing records are a red flag for widespread HR mismanagement.
• Training must reflect current state law. If the content hasn’t been updated since before 2019, it’s out of compliance. New York’s 2018 legislation and 2019 amendments changed employer obligations significantly. Up-to-date content is non-negotiable. Old materials ignore today’s standards and your current protections.
• Language access is mandatory. Your employer must offer training in your primary language, based on availability from the New York Department of Labor. If they didn’t, they excluded you from your legal rights. This often happens in workplaces with multilingual staff. Denying language access denies justice.

Remote Employees Deserve the Same Training Standards

Whether you're working from home in Rochester or telecommuting from a cabin in the Catskills, remote workers must receive the same training. Employers can’t use “off-site” status to avoid the rules. In fact, harassment in digital spaces, like Zoom calls or Slack threads, is one of the fastest-growing issues we see.

If you didn’t receive proper training because you were remote, that’s a legal failure. You were just as entitled to know how to report harassment and recognize it in virtual environments. These settings can make misconduct harder to spot and report. That’s why comprehensive digital harassment training is more important than ever.

Employers have the tools to deliver interactive training online. If they chose not to use them, that’s a choice and one that may expose them to liability if harassment followed.

What If You Don’t Remember Being Trained? You’re Not Alone

If you honestly don’t remember receiving training, or only vaguely recall it, it probably wasn’t done correctly.  We’ve helped countless clients who were confused about their rights simply because their employer failed to take the training seriously.

That confusion can make employees doubt themselves or delay reporting harassment. And when they do report, they’re often told they “should’ve known better.” But when the training never happened, how could you? You can’t follow rules you were never taught.

We dig into your workplace’s records, interview witnesses, and uncover the truth. If your employer falsely claimed to have trained you, or lied to regulators about it, we’ll expose that, too. You don’t need perfect memory. You need representation that knows what to look for.

Your Rights Matter and We’ll Hold Employers Accountable

You should never feel unsure about how to report harassment or what’s considered unacceptable behavior. That’s what training is supposed to prevent. When your employer skips this step, downplays the law, or cuts corners, they’re putting your safety and dignity at risk. And that’s not something we tolerate.

As one of the most trusted law firms in the country, Horn Wright, LLP, we don’t just file claims. We show the courts exactly how employers failed to protect their teams. We make the timeline clear. We expose the gaps in training, the shortcuts in policy, and the silence that allowed misconduct to thrive.

Wherever you work, we’re here to fight for your right to feel safe. Call (855) 465-4622 or reach out online to schedule a free, no-pressure consultation with our team.