The State Of Employment Law: Several States Require Sexual Harassment Training

In this series, we will explore some of the ways states vary from one another in their employment laws.

Title VII prohibits sexual harassment, but it does not require any anti-harassment training for employees. While many employers provide anti-harassment training, many multistate employers are unaware that several states have specific sexual harassment training requirements. As more states and even cities introduce sexual harassment training laws, a one-size-fits-all training approach likely will not work.

New York’s training requirements are among the strictest. Employees must receive training annually. Training must be interactive, include a definition and examples of sexual harassment, provide information on federal and state laws prohibiting sexual harassment and employee remedies for harassment, and address supervisors’ responsibilities to prevent and correct sexual harassment. Illinois requires annual training similar to New York’s for all employees.

California requires supervisors and non-supervisors to be trained at least every two years. Non-supervisors must receive at least an hour of training and supervisors must receive at least two hours. California, like New York and Illinois, has a detailed list of topics that must be covered in training. Delaware also requires training every two years. Connecticut requires all employees to receive at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training within six months of hire, but unlike California, Delaware, Illinois, and New York, employees who have received such training do not need a refresher. Maine employees must receive training within one year of hire but do not need a refresher after that. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont all encourage sexual harassment training, but do not strictly require it.

Complicating matters further are municipal laws requiring training. Chicago, for example, requires an hour of training per year for non-supervisors and two hours for supervisors. Supervisors who are outside of Chicago, but supervise someone in Chicago, are subject to the training requirement. Plus, all employees must take an additional hour of bystander training.