The Annual Report on Compliance with Anti-Sexual Harassment Training Requirements by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) revealed that in 2022, only 62% of New York City Department of Education (DOE) employees completed their mandatory sexual harassment training requirement. 

This was the lowest among approximately 100 New York City agencies surveyed and well below the NYC sexual harassment training completion rate of 79%, though many agencies achieved 100% compliance. 

Some other agencies with poor completion rates included:

• Department of Small Business Services (66%)
• Department of Correction (72%),
• Bronx County Public Administrator (14% -or only one – of just seven employees). 

It’s important to note that the NYC Department of Education has 142,000 employees, which means that 46,800 employees did not take mandatory sexual harassment training in New York in 2022.

The DOE’s poor NYC sexual harassment training completion rate comes when the agency faces legal action over allegations of sexual misconduct, and the failure to meet legally mandated training requirements could expose them to further litigation.

Workplace and Sexual Harassment Training Laws More Common, Penalties More Severe

Mandatory workplace and sexual harassment training laws are becoming increasingly common, and penalties for non-compliance can be severe. Civil penalties of “up to $250,000” can be imposed for willful violations of the NYC sexual harassment training law, although such significant monetary fines are rare. 

Employers are usually told to complete the training and provide records, and they can continue operating as if the violation did not occur. However, some jurisdictions (like Chicago) plan to monitor and enforce compliance, including imposing fines.

Employers in at least seven states, multiple territories, and some municipalities must conduct anti-harassment training, and millions of employees are subject to mandatory or recommended workplace / sexual harassment training. 

The failure of any organization to provide quality education to its workforce on these critical topics is a significant concern to employees, clients, and people in their care. 

Syntrio: Helping You Meet Compliance Goals for 20+ Years

Syntrio helps organizations meet compliance training goals with engaging and interactive sexual harassment training modules that go beyond legal requirements and cover workplace civility, respect, and inclusivity. 

Syntrio’s seven modern workforce training libraries and e-learning products provide employers and employees with information that can be used both in and out of work, reducing the potential for harassment and discrimination in the workplace and increasing quality communications and productivity while minimizing organizational risk.