Anti-Harassment Training: Are You Required To Take It?

Anti-harassment and prevention training requirements vary by state (and even city).

And, they basically break down into three groups:

• Required: 7 states (i.e., California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New York, Washington) and the District of Columbia mandate sexual harassment trainings for some or all private sector employers and employees
• "Encouraged": 4 states (Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont) “encourage” but do not require it
• "Best Practice": Anti-harassment training is considered a “best practice" for the remaining 39 states

Let's dig into whether you need to take anti-harassment training (or not)...

 REQUIRED:

California
Effective as of: January 1, 2019

Employers affected: Employers with five or more employees, including temporary or seasonal workers

Guidance: Employers must provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all employees with supervisor duties and at least one hour of training to all employees without supervisor duties by January 1, 2020—and once every two years after that.

Connecticut
Effective as of: October 1, 2019

Employers affected: Employers with three or more employees

Guidance: Employers must provide at least two hours of training to all employees by October 1, 2020, or within six months of hiring thereafter.

Delaware
Effective as of: January 1, 2019

Employers affected: Employers with 50 or more employees in Delaware

Guidance: Employers must train new employees within a year of their start date and every two years after that.

District of Columbia
Effective as of: October 30, 2020

Employers affected: Employers that have tipped employees

Guidance: Employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees by October 30, 2022, or within 90 days of hiring thereafter.

Illinois
Effective as of: January 1, 2020

Employers affected: Employers with 15 or more employees

Guidance: Employers must provide sexual harassment training at least once per year. They can use the model sexual harassment prevention training developed by the Illinois Department of Human Rights or develop their own sexual harassment prevention training program, so long as it complies with the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Maine
Effective as of: November 1, 2017

Employers affected: Employers with 15 or more employees

Guidance: Employers must use a checklist developed by the Maine Department of Labor to create the sexual harassment training program they will use. Every employee must be trained within one year of their start date.

New York
Effective as of: April 12, 2018

Employers affected: All employers

Guidance: Employers must provide employees with annual, interactive sexual harassment training. The training needs to include an explanation of sexual harassment, examples of conduct that amounts to sexual harassment, and the ways employees can report sexual harassment.

New York City
Effective as of: April 1, 2019

Employers affected: Employers with more than 15 employees

Guidance: Employers must train every employee within 90 days of their hiring. The training must include an explanation of sexual harassment, the employer's complaint process, bystander intervention, and the responsibilities of supervisors and managers.

Washington
Effective as of: January 1, 2020

Employers affected: Employers in certain industries, like hotels, motels, retail corporations, security guard entities, and property service contractors

Guidance: Employers must provide qualifying employees with a specified list of assault and harassment prevention resources, and must meet the record keeping requirements. All training must occur by January 1, 2020 or January 1, 2021, depending on the employer’s type of business.

 ENCOURAGED:

Colorado
Guidance: The Colorado Civil Rights Commission recommends that employers “take all steps necessary to prevent discrimination, including harassment, from occurring, such as … training.” (3 CCR 708-1, Rule 20.6)

Employers affected: All employers and their employees covered by the Colorado Fair Employment Practices Act (all employers except religious organizations or associations not supported by money raised from taxation or public borrowing) are encouraged but not required to conduct training.

Massachusetts

Guidance: The training for new employees should include the information required in an employer’s
antiharassment policy, which is (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 151B, § 3A(e)):

• A statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful.
• A statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint of sexual harassment or for cooperating in an investigation of a complaint for sexual harassment.
• A description and examples of sexual harassment.
• A statement of the range of consequences for employees committing sexual harassment.
• A description of the process for filing internal complaints about sexual harassment and the contact information of the individuals to which complaints should be made.
• The identity of the appropriate state and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies and directions for contacting these agencies.
• The training for new supervisory and managerial employees should include:
• The information required for non-supervisory employee training.
• The specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees.
• The actions that supervisory and managerial employees should take to ensure immediate and appropriate corrective action in addressing sexual harassment complaints.

Employers affected: All employers are encouraged but not required to conduct training, and all new employees within one year of beginning employment. Additional training for new supervisory or managerial employees within one year of beginning employment.

Vermont

Guidance: The training for new employees should include the information required in an employer’s
antiharassment policy, which is:

• A statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful.
• A statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint of sexual harassment or for cooperating in aninvestigation of a complaint for sexual harassment.
• A description and examples of sexual harassment.
• A statement of the range of consequences for employees committing sexual harassment.
• If the employer has more than five employees, a description of the process for filing internal complaints about sexual harassment and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the person or persons to which complaints should be made.
• The complaint process of the appropriate state and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies and directions for contacting these agencies.

Employers affected: Employers with 50 more employees are encouraged but not required to conduct training, and all new employees within one year of beginning employment. Additional training for new supervisory or managerial employees within one year of beginning employment.

Rhode Island

Guidance: The training for new employees should include the information required in an employer’s antiharassment policy, which is (R.I. Gen. Laws §§28-51-1(a), 28-51-2(c), and § 28-51-3):

• A statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful.
• A statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint of sexual harassment or for cooperating in an investigation of a complaint for sexual harassment.
• A description and examples of sexual harassment.
• A statement of the range of consequences for employees committing sexual harassment.
• A description of the process for filing internal complaints about sexual harassment and the contact information of the individuals to which complaints should be made.
• The identity of the appropriate state and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies and directions for contacting these agencies.
• For new supervisory and managerial employees should include:
  • The information required for nonsupervisory employee training.
  • The specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees.
  • The methods that supervisory and managerial employees should take to ensure immediate and appropriate corrective action in addressing sexual harassment complaints

Employers affected: Employers with 50 more employees are encouraged but not required to conduct training, and all new employees within one year of beginning employment. Additional training for new supervisory or managerial employees within one year of beginning employment.