Delaware Sexual Harassment Training

Federal Harassment Law 

Federal anti-discrimination laws encompass the federal sexual harassment law, from which state and local sexual harassment requirements and mandatory sexual harassment training laws have evolved. These federal laws are also the set of statutes from the United States EEOC sexual harassment policy on enforcement are derived from. In states such as Delaware, where sexual harassment and job discrimination charges are commonly filed administratively with the EEOC before going to court, the agency and its guidance play a pivotal role in anti-discrimination and anti-harassment litigation. The federal anti-discrimination laws prohibit employment discrimination, sexual harassment in the workplace, and other forms of workplace harassment and set the floor from which state and local laws can enact greater protections against job discrimination and workplace harassment.  

The most notable federal employment law covering discrimination and harassment in the workplace is Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964, which covers employers who employ or have employed 15 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. In addition to prohibiting employment discrimination, courts have held that Title VII prohibits harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment in the workplace, hostile environment sexual harassment, and other forms of employment discrimination and workplace harassment, which in recent years has become a key focus of attention on federal anti-discrimination laws and other related employment laws (including an increased focus on mandatory training).  

Under the federal employment law scheme, harassment in the workplace is a form of job discrimination that occurs when unwelcome conduct (such as verbal sexual harassment or physical, sexual harassment) that is based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity or pregnancy), national origin, age (over 40), disability occurs. Harassment in the workplace becomes illegal where: a) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or b) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile or intimidating work environment that a reasonable person would consider hostile or abusive.  

As important as learning what workplace harassment is, it is also essential to understand that workplace harassment (including sexual harassment at work) does not include petty slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents. Unless severe, such trial verbal sexual comments or other offensive behavior may not rise to the level of illegal harassment in the workplace.

Delaware Sexual Harassment Law

While many individuals who claim they have been sexually harassed in Delaware file their sexual harassment in the workplace claim in federal court, many sexual harassment claims are brought under the Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act, codified in Chapter 7 of Title 19 of the Code of Delaware. The Discrimination in Employment Act is the substantive body of law in the state that prohibits employment discrimination and all forms of harassment in the workplace in Delaware. 

 Section 711A(g) of the Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act is also the set of statutes encompassing the Delaware sexual harassment training requirements. Section 711A(g) requires all Delaware employers with 50 or more employees to conduct sexual harassment in the workplace training every two years.  

Categories of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Under federal and Delaware anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, there are two categories of sexual harassment in the workplace. They include:  

“Hostile Environment Harassment,” which refers to unwelcome comments or conduct based on sex that is either severe or pervasive such that they unreasonably interfere with an employee’s work performance or create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment that alters the conditions of employment; and 

“Quid Pro Quo sexual harassment” occurs when a job or promotion is explicitly or implicitly conditioned on an applicant or employee’s submission to sexual advances or other conduct based on sex. 

Importantly, hostile environment harassment can occur based on any protected category and should not be restricted to individuals who feel sexually harassed. As such, it is necessary for Delaware sexual harassment training to cover such issues as race harassment to comply with Delaware sexual harassment training requirements fully.