Implementing sexual harassment training within your business is imperative, as it creates safer workplaces for all employees. Unfortunately, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and a hostile work environment are everyday realities for individuals. Sexual harassment training serves many purposes, including education, compliance with laws, and risk mitigation. More and more state and local jurisdictions require employers to provide training.
There are currently nine states/cities that mandate sexual harassment training in the workplace, including:
California
Any employer with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment training. The following must be trained:
- All employees
- Supervisory employees must be trained for at least two hours
- Non-supervisory employees must be trained for at least one hour
Within six months of an employee’s hire date, nonsupervisory employees and supervisory employees must be trained. For part-time employees, training is required within the first 30 days of their hire date or within the first 100 hours worked. In addition, every two years, all employees must complete the ongoing training.
Connecticut
Employers must provide sexual harassment training to their supervisors, regardless of size. An employer with three or more employees must provide training to all employees within six months of their hire date. Every 10 years, employees must repeat the training for at least two hours.
Delaware
Any employer that has 50 employees or more must provide sexual harassment training. All new hires must be trained within their first year of employment. In addition, all employees must be trained every two years.
Illinois
All employers with one or more employees must partake in sexual harassment training as soon as they’re employed. This training must recur every year to stay up-to-date with the newest training protocols.
Chicago
In Chicago, every employer must also provide their employees with a dedicated hour of bystander sexual harassment training annually. Employers have until June 30, 2023, to begin providing this training. Bystander training should include:
- Employees recognizing situations of potential sexual harassment
- Understanding institutional structures and cultural conditions that facilitate sexual harassment
- Overcoming barriers to intervening
- Identifying safe and effective intervention options
- Taking action to intervene
Maine
An employer with 15 or more employees must train all employees. Training must be completed within the first year of a new hire or being promoted to a supervisor. There is no requirement on how frequently employers in Maine should partake in sexual harassment training.
New York State
In New York, every employee must be trained as soon as they begin employment at your business. Additionally, ongoing training should be completed annually.
New York City
For employers with 15 or more employees in New York City, you must provide training to all employees within the first 90 days of their hire date. This training must be completed on an annual basis.
Washington State
Every hotel, motel, retail, security guard entity, or property services contractor that employs an “employee” must complete training as soon as they are hired. An “employee” in this case means an individual who spends most of their working hours alone, or whose primary work responsibility involves working without another coworker present, and who is employed by an employer as a janitor, security guard, hotel or motel housekeeper, or room service attendant. There is no requirement on how often the training must occur once the first training is completed.
Invest In Proper Training To Ensure Workplace Safety
Without a healthy and efficient workforce, business owners cannot keep operations running and thriving. Our experts will train your employees to ensure they follow safe workplace protocols. In addition, we provide clients with access to an employee learning management system where you can easily send new learning modules to your employees. This is an excellent source to implement ongoing training if your company is in a state that requires frequent training. To learn more about the benefits of implementing a learning management system, read our blog.