Harassment Training Requirements in the United States and U.S. Territories

• Managers (including anyone with supervisory duties); 
• Non-supervisory employees; 
• Temporary and seasonal employees (if they work more than 30 calendar days or 100 calendar hours in a year). 
• Independent contractors and unpaid interns are recommended by California to receive training (but not required). 
• If an employee is employed by a temporary service provider, it is the responsibility of the service provider to provide the training. 

California requires the following training records to be kept for at least two years: 

• Names of attendees; 
• Date of training; 
• A copy of the employee sign-in sheet (if applicable); 
• Certificates of completion; 
• A statement on the type of training; 
• All materials provided; and 
• The name of training provider. 

Training must include the following elements: 

• Federal and State statutory provisions and case law concerning the prohibition against and prevention of sexual harassment; 
• Examples of conduct that can be considered sexual harassment; 
• Remedies and resources available to victims of sexual harassment; 
• Strategies to prevent sexual harassment; 
• Supervisor responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment; 
• A statement on the illegality of discrimination; 
• Practical examples of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation; 
• Information on the prevention of abusive conduct; 
• A link to the employer’s harassment policy, which the learner must acknowledge having read; 
• Bystander intervention training is encouraged, but not required by the California law. 

Yes, California requires the following of employers in the state:

• Employers must post a poster detailing discrimination in the workplace and the illegality of sexual harassment in a “prominent and accessible location in the workplace.” The poster must include information on transgender rights and is available online from the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing. 
• Employers must also acquire from the DFEH website and distribute to employees “in a manner that ensures distribution to all employees, such as with the employee’s paycheck” an information sheet about the illegality of sexual harassment and employee remedies and complaint procedures 

• The Connecticut law applies to employers with three or more employees working in the state. 
• The law applies even if the employer is headquartered outside Connecticut. 

• Connecticut requires training to be updated and re-administered once every 10 years. 
• The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights recommends that supervisors be updated on developments in the law every three years. 

• The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights (“CCHR”) has the authority to inspect records of training. 
• This means employers should keep reasonable records of who was trained, when the training occurred, and what type of training was conducted. 

• Under Connecticut law, failing to conduct training is considered a “discriminatory act” subject to fines up to $1000. 
• It is unclear whether the $1000 fine will be imposed “per employee.” 

Training must be interactive and must include the following elements: 

• A description of sexual harassment (including examples and specific statutory provisions); 
• The verbatim definition of harassment under Connecticut state and federal law; 
• A description of the types of conduct that constitute sexual harassment under state law including, but not limited to, the fact that a victim may be a man or a woman and same sex-harassment is illegal. 
• Training must also provide a description of remedies available, contact information for the CCHR, a description of the complaint process, and the fact that individuals who commit acts of harassment may be liable for civil and/or criminal penalties. 
• Training must discuss retaliation and the legal protections against this form of misconduct; 
• Employers must describe strategies to prevent sexual harassment. 

The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has also recommended the following elements be included in training: 

• Training on the seriousness of harassment; 
• Roleplay as a means of teaching; 
• The importance of interpersonal skills; and 
• The perceptual differences of situations between men and women 

The CHRO has also stated that learners must be able to ask questions about the training and receive answers “within a reasonable time period.” 

• Training programs must be repeated every two years. 
• The two-year requirement applies to both managers and non-supervisory employees. 

• Training must be conducted within one year of commencement of employment. 
• If an employee assumes a supervisory position, additional training must be conducted within one year of commencement of the supervisory role. 

• Employees, managers and supervisors must receive training. 
• All full-time, part-time and seasonal employees should receive training. 
• Interns and apprentices should also receive training. 

• The Delaware law does not specify what records must be retained 
• Employers are encouraged to keep attendance records and dates of training in case of audit or discovery request. 

• Training must be interactive, although the Delaware law is silent on the meaning of “interactivity.” 
• Topics covered must include the following: 
• A statement on the illegality of sexual harassment; 
• A specific definition of sexual harassment (with examples); 
• A description of legal remedies available to employees and the complaint process (both internally and externally); 
• Instruction on how to contact the Delaware Department of Labor regarding a complaint; 
• Instruction that retaliation is prohibited 
• Supervisors must receive additional training on the specific responsibilities of a manager in sexual harassment prevention and the illegality of retaliation. 

• Illinois requires training all temporary and seasonal employees, as well as interns. Training is recommended for independent contractors but not required by the law.
• The IDHR recommends that all employees receive training, even if they were trained at a prior employer.
• All employees who work or will work in Illinois should be trained. This means that even employees based outside of Illinois who will interact with Illinois employees should receive Illinois training.

Employers must keep records of all training including:

• A certificate of completion;
• A signed employee acknowledgment; and
• An employee sign-in sheet (electronic records are acceptable) Illinois law is silent on how long training records must be maintained.

Illinois employers are required to provide training containing (at a minimum) the following elements:

• An explanation of sexual harassment;
• Examples of conduct that constitutes unlawful sexual harassment;
• A summary of state and federal statutory provisions, including remedies available to victims; and
• A summary of the responsibilities of employers for prevention, investigation, and corrective measures of sexual harassment.

• Illinois law requires all employers to post (in a conspicuous location) a poster entitled “You Have the Right to be Free from Job Discrimination and Sexual Harassment.” 
• The poster is available for download from the Illinois Department of Human Rights website. 
• All restaurants, bars and hotels in the State of Illinois must also establish, distribute and post a written policy on sexual harassment prevention. 

Similar to many other states and municipalities, as of July 1, 2022, Chicago employers must have a written policy prohibiting sexual harassment. The policy requirement has many of the familiar elements to those with employees working elsewhere. 

Specifically, the written policy must contain: 

• A statement that harassment is illegal in Chicago; 

• The definition of harassment as stated above; 

• The requirement that all employees participate in sexual harassment prevention training annually; 

• The temporal requirements for training (one hour for employees; two hours for managers); 

• Examples of conduct that constitute sexual harassment; 

• Details on how an individual can report an allegation of sexual harassment (including confidential reports and how to report internally and to legal and governmental authorities); 

• A statement that retaliation for making reports of harassment is illegal in Chicago. 

• Training must be completed within one year of hire. 
• Additional training (including manager specific elements) must be conducted within one year of assumption of a supervisory position. 

• Maine employers must keep a record of the training (including names of employees who attended) for a minimum of three years. 
• The records must be made available to the Maine Department of Labor upon request. 

Under Maine law, the Maine Department of Labor can assess fines for noncompliance with the training law. 

The fine schedule is as follows: 

• First violation: fine of $1,000 
• Second violation: fine of $2,500 
• Third or subsequent violation: fine of $5,000 

Maine requires employers to provide annual individual written notice to employees including a description of sexual harassment and the protections against it. The written notice must contain the information: 

• Notice of the illegality of sexual harassment and retaliation, including a definition of the terms under state law; 
• A description of sexual harassment, using examples; 
• An explanation of the legal recourse and complaint process, as well as how to contact the Maine Human Rights Division; 
• Information on the employer’s internal complaint process; 
• Supervisors must receive additional training on the specific responsibilities associated with that role, and steps that must be taken to ensure immediate and corrective action in addressing complaints of sexual harassment. 

There are no additional training requirements under Maine law. 

Maine requires employers to provide annual individual written notice to employees including a description of sexual harassment and the protections against it. The written notice must contain the information enumerated in question 9 (“What are the mandatory content requirements under Maine law?) in this section. 

Maine also requires all employers to post in a “prominent and accessible location in the workplace” a document (that does not exceed sixth-grade literacy standards) including the following elements: 

• A statement on the illegality of sexual harassment; 
• A description of sexual harassment (including examples); 
• The complaint process available through the Maine Human Rights Commission; and 
• Directions on how to contact the Maine Human Rights Commission 

The New York State law does not set a minimum number of employees but under the New York City law any employer with 15 or more employees is subject to the training requirement. 

Because the State law supersedes the City law, all New York employees must receive training. 

• Managers, supervisors and employees (including temporary, part-time, and seasonal employees). 
• Government contractors who provide goods and services to New York. 
• Under New York City law independent contractors must also be trained. 
• Also, under New York City law, any employees located anywhere must be trained if they have contact with New York City. 

• State law encourages employers to retain records of the training. 
• City law requires employers to retain a signed acknowledgment that training was actually completed. 

Training must be interactive. Training must contain: 

• A detailed explanation of what constitutes sexual harassment at work (both City and State definitions); 
• Examples of conduct that constitutes sexual harassment (under the unique approach taken by New York City); 
• Information on the illegality of retaliation and examples of protected activity under the law; 
• Information on bystander intervention, including information on how to engage in bystander intervention; 
• Information on the duties specific to supervisors with respect to the prevention of sexual harassment; 
• Information on the remedies available to victims; 
• Information about employees’ rights to adjudicate complaints of sexual harassment, both administratively and judicially, and the forums in which to do so; and 
• Contact information for equal employment opportunity agencies. 

• Yes. Employers are required to provide employees in New York a written notice of sexual harassment prevention. 
• This document must be provided at the time of hire and during annual harassment training. 
• The notice must include: 

• The employer’s sexual harassment prevention policy; and 
• The information and materials presented in the harassment training program. 

• The policy and notification must be provided in English and the language the employee identifies as his or her primary language. 
• Employers are also required to post their sexual harassment policy “prominently in work locations” and to provide a copy to employees at the time of hire. 
• Under New York City law, employees must post a copy of the NYC sexual harassment poster and “Fact Sheet” and provide the Fact Sheet at the time of hire. 

• Those employees working 20 or more calendar weeks per year must receive sexual harassment prevention training. 
• Employees operating under an employment contract in the USVI must receive training. Presumably, this includes independent contractors. 
• Employees are defined by USVI law as “any person who works for an employer and receives compensation therefore.” The law also states that “employee” is to be defined in the “broadest sense possible.” 

The following content must be included under the law: 

• A statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful; 
• A statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for complaining of 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 anyone found to have committed sexual harassment; 
• A description of the process for filing an internal complaint of sexual harassment; 
• The address and telephone numbers of the person or persons to whom complaints should be made; and 
• The identity of the appropriate territorial and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies, and directions on how to contact those agencies. 

• Employers must provide all employees a written copy of the employer’s sexual harassment policy at the time of hire and upon request. 
• The policy must contain all of the information mesquites under the “What are the mandatory contents under USVI law” section of this document. 
• Employers must maintain copies of their written policies against sexual harassment at their place of business and those records should be made available to territorial or federal enforcement agencies upon request. 

• Training must be repeated once every two years. 
• Manager training must be conducted in-person and attended once every two years. 

• The training must meet or exceed the content provided in the course developed by the D.C. OHR. 
• Only OHR-approved trainers will be authorized to provide training compliant with the law. 
• At a minimum, training will need to contain the following elements: 

– How to respond to, intervene in and prevent sexual harassment by coworkers, management and patrons. 

• The Washington law applies to all hotels, motels, retail entities, security guard entities, and property services contractors.
• A property services contractor is a person or entity that employs individuals that provide janitorial services, with some exceptions.

• Washington’s law does not contain a re-training requirement for covered private employers.
• State government employees must re-train once every five years.

• Hotels and motels with 60 or more rooms must have completed the training by January 1, 2020.
• All other covered employers must complete training by January 1, 2021.

• Under the Washington law, all employees must receive training;
• “Employee” is defined under the law as “an individual employed as a janitor, security guard, hotel or motel housekeeper or room service attendant who spends the majority of his or her time working without another coworker present.”
• Security guards are covered by the law regardless of whether they are working for a security agency or single employer.
• All managers and supervisors must also receive training

• The law is silent as to what (if any) records must be retained.
• Washington employers are encouraged to keep the name of training provider, list of attendees, and type of training (as well as a copy of all materials provided) in case of audit or legal action.

Washington law requires covered employers to provide training to employees, including the following key elements: 

• How to prevent sexual assault and harassment in the workplace 
• Prevention of discrimination in the workplace; and 
• Protections for employees who report violations of a state or federal law, rule or regulation. 

• Covered employers must also provide employees with the following in writing or via email: 

• Contact information for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; 
• Contact information for the Washington State Human Rights Commission; 
• Contact information for local advocacy groups on the prevention of sexual harassment and assault. 

• Covered employers are also required to develop and distribute a policy against sexual harassment to all employees. 
• Covered employers must also distribute a panic button to all employees. A panic button is an emergency contact device that the employee carriers, which can summon immediate assistance from another worker, guard, or employer representative.