NYS Sexual Harassment: Do I have to Train 1099 Non-Employees?

Hey this is Matt from Benetech answering your common questions when it comes to NY State’s new Sexual Harassment Training. Today’s question:

Do I have to train my 1099 contracted employees to be compliant?

Great question, and it’s a short answer, but always with a caveat. This stuff is never that simple.

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So do you have to train your 1099 employees to be compliant with the NYS Sexual Harassment Training Mandate? The answer is:

No. Employers are only responsible for training their employees. Contracted employees would fall into the non-employee contractor category.

So I said there’s a caveat. What is it?

While the employer is not responsible for training 1099 employees, he or she is responsible for providing non-employees with a “harassment-free workplace.”

That means a non-employee working at your office, be they part of a janitorial service, or someone there for long-term project work, then they are subject to both the rules and protections provided by your employer policy.

Here’s an example…

So if a non-employee janitor is repeatedly asking one of your employees out on a date, and your employee doesn’t want that, then that Janitor is in violation of your office policy and you can take that up with the Janitor’s employer.

On the flip-side…

However, if one of your employees is repeatedly hitting on the janitor, and that janitor doesn’t want that, then that non-employee janitor can come and complaint to his or her own boss, or directly to you. That non-employee janitor is subject to the protections under your sexual harassment prevention policy for a harassment free workplace.

So, while it is not an employer’s responsibility per say to train non-employees, that employer must make sure that their policy is posted where non-employees can read it. To be extra safe, employers may even go as far as to have non-employees review their Sexual Harassment Prevention policy, and sign-off on having done so.

So, great question, we’re going to keep posting more quick Q and A’s on this topic and other compliance topics. So please subscribe.

And if you are a NYS employer looking for an affordable training solution, we’ve got the simplest and affordable solution on the market getting your employees trained and your company compliant for as low as $180 a year. Don’t get sucked into the common mistake of overpaying for compliance.

To learn more about Benetech’s Simple Sexual Harassment Training for NYS, click the link in the comments section and learn how your training program can be up and running in less than 24 hours.

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