Upcoming Sexual Harassment Training Deadlines

With all the chaos this year, many HR and Compliance pros have forgotten about some pending deadlines for sexual harassment training. We put the following guide together to help summarize the info you need to stay within the guidelines.

Currently, several states have sexual harassment training mandates that were unaffected by COVID-19, etc. These states include California, Illinois, New York, Maine, Washington, Connecticut, and Delaware — several of which have deadlines fast approaching.

Here is a summary:

California – Jan 1, 2021

All employers with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment training every two years, with the first training due by January 1, 2021. New employees and promoted supervisors must be trained within six months of hire/promotion. Training for supervisors must be 2-hours in length; for non-supervisors, the training must be 1-hour in length. Training must include content on abusive conduct, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, remedies available to victims, and practical examples. Training must be conducted by a trainer with expertise in harassment and discrimination. See AB 1825, AB 2053, SB 396, and SB 1343. Click here to download the flyer.

Illinois – Required Now!

All employers are required to provide sexual harassment training to all employees in Illinois annually. The training must include: an explanation of sexual harassment, examples of conduct that constitutes unlawful sexual harassment, a summary of federal and state statutes including remedies available to victims, and a summary of employer responsibilities for preventing, investigating, and correcting sexual harassment. In addition, restaurant and bar owners are required to provide industry-specific sexual harassment training to all employees, available in both English and Spanish. Click here to download the flyer.

New York State – Required Now!

All employers in New York are required to provide all employees anti-harassment training annually. The training must be interactive and include: an explanation of what constitutes unlawful or sexual harassment, examples of conduct that would be considered unlawful or sexual harassment, information on state and federal laws concerning sexual harassment and resources for victims, and information on employees rights and forums for resolving complaints administratively and judicially. Click here to download the flyer.

New York City – Required Now!

All employers in New York City with more than 15 employees are required to provide annual anti-sexual harassment training to all employees, supervisors, and managers. Employers must provide anti-sexual harassment training to new employees who work more than 80 hours per year within 90 days of hire. Click here to download the flyer.

Maine – Required Now!

All employers with 15 or more employees located or doing business in Maine must provide sexual harassment training to all employees within one year of hire. Supervisors and managers must receive additional training within one year of promotion. Training must include the definition and illegality of sexual harassment under state and federal laws, examples of sexual harassment, information on the employer’s complaint process, legal recourse, and information on protections against retaliation. Click here to download the flyer.

Washington – January 1, 2021

Every hotel, motel, retail, or security guard entity, or property services contractor who employs an “employee” must provide mandatory training to their managers, supervisors, and employees. The training must include content on: preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace, preventing sexual discrimination in the workplace, and protections for employees who report violations of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation. For covered employers, all employees must be trained.

Hotels and motels with sixty or more rooms must meet the requirements of this section by January 1, 2020. All other covered employers must meet the requirements of this section by January 1, 2021.

State government employees are required to complete sexual harassment awareness and prevention training at least every five years. New state government employees must complete the training within the first six months after hire, or earlier if required by the state government employer’s sexual harassment policy. Click here to download the flyer.

Connecticut – October 1, 2020

All employers with three or more employees must provide two hours of sexual harassment training to all employees by October 1, 2020. Employees hired after October 1, 2019, must receive the training within six months of hire. All Connecticut employers, regardless of size, must provide sexual harassment training to supervisors by October 1, 2020, or within six months of promotion to a supervisory role. Training must include content on state and federal laws prohibiting sexual harassment, definitions, types of conduct that constitutes sexual harassment, and remedies available to victims. Click here to download the flyer.

Delaware – Required Now!

All employers with 50 or more employees must provide sexual harassment training for all employees and supervisors. Training must be interactive and new employees must be trained within one year of hire. Supervisors must receive additional content on the responsibilities of a supervisor in preventing and correcting sexual harassment and the legal prohibition against retaliation. All employees and supervisors must be retrained every two years.

It is essential to educate employees on what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior. Anti-harassment training can reinforce the message that it is everyone’s responsibility to speak up and report incidents of harassment or retaliation. If you are not training your team on sexual harassment, you are opening up your organization to undue risk.

From the blatant to the subtle, your team should be able to easily and effectively recognize and respond to situations that lead to sexual harassment. This is one of the most important ways to foster the respectful, positive work environment we are all after. Click here to download the flyer.