States with Mandatory Employee Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Training

This chart is a summary of key requirements. It does not include important details. Refer to state notes below for government-issued information. Nothing we present here should be construed as legal advice; consult with legal counsel as to employer obligations and worker rights.

State/City	Excepted Employers	Workers to Be Trained	Training Time	Recurrent Training?	Must Refer to State Remedies?	Must Train Company Policy?	Record-Keeping?	Bystander Intervention Trained	More Info
California	under 5 workers	supervisors & managers	2 hours	2 years	Yes	Yes	2 years	Yes	SHRM
California	under 5 workers	all others	1 hour	2 years	Yes	Yes	2 years	Yes	SHRM
Connecticut	no exceptions	supervisors & managers	2 hours	10 years	Yes	Yes	1 year		SHRM
Connecticut	under 3 workers	all employees	2 hours	10 years	Yes	Yes	1 year		SHRM
Delaware	under 50 workers	supervisors & managers		2 years	Yes	Yes			SHRM
Delaware	under 50 workers	all others		2 years	Yes	Yes			SHRM
Illinois	no exceptions	supervisors & managers	1+ hours	Annual	Yes	Yes	Yes		SHRM IL govt. info
Illinois	no exceptions	all others	1 hour	Annual	Yes	Yes	Yes		SHRM IL govt. info
Chicago City	Same rules as Illinois, plus:				Also, must communicate option to report harassment to Chicago Commission on Human Relations.			+1 hours	SHRM
Maine	under 15 workers	supervisors & managers			Yes; must receive additional training on supervisor responsibilities	Yes	3 years		ME summary
Maine	under 15 workers	all others			Yes	Yes	3 years		ME summary
New York State	no exceptions	all		Annual	Yes	Yes	3 years		SHRM
New York City; NY State rules also apply	under 15 workers	all		Annual	Yes	Yes	3 years	Yes	SHRM

GISTnet provides discrimination and harassment prevention training using Traliant video-enhanced interactive modules.

In addition to U.S. Federal law prohibiting employment-related harassment and discrimination, many states also have laws which increase Federal standards and requirements. At this time (April, 2023), California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois plus a stricter Chicago city ordinance, Maine, New York plus a stricter New York City ordinance, mandate that training be provided to all employees, though requirements vary. Of course, training in this topic is a good practice in all other states in order to promote compliance with federal and state law as well as implementing company policy.

Because topics that must be trained and/or duration of training varies by state, we provide several state variations of the core training to which can be added a company-specific module to teach and record understanding of company policy and state/city remedies. Employers need to add a custom module for workers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New York, and New York City. To add this employer-specific module, contact us. We will need a short statement of company policy concerning your procedure for a worker who experiences harassment or discrimination to report this to your company. We can also add links to the various state agencies (remedies), as required by some jurisdictions. We do not charge in advance for this customization, but this additional module will add a small additional charge, typically $1 or less, per student assignment.

All required record-keeping, and notifications to company training administrators and others when refresher training is coming due, are included in the course fee.

State Notes and Links to More Information

Here is additional information and links to respective official information concerning mandatory Anti-Harassment and Discrimination training.

California

Applies to employers with 5 or more full-time or part-time workers, including direct employees, unpaid interns, volunteers, independent contractors, seasonal workers, and any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly.
Initial training must be provided within 6 months of employment, except for seasonal, temporary workers, who must be trained within 30 days after hire.
Student must have access to an expert to answer questions within 2 business days.
Notice of company policy and training must be provided to employees at time of hire, and should also be covered in training.
More information:

Connecticut

Applies to employers with 50 or more full-time or part-time direct employees, but not independent contractors nor individuals employed less than six months continuously.
Mandatory training currently applies only to supervisors and managers, but new rules are pending to extend training to all employees.
More information: Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Sexual Harassment Prevention Resources, § 46a-54-200-207

Delaware

Applies to employers with 50 or more direct employees, unpaid interns, joint employees, and apprentices, but not independent contractors.
Initial training must be provided within 12 months of hire date, with annual recurrent training.
More information:
- Delaware Department of Labor, "New Sexual Harassment Law Extends Protections"
- SHRM Article, "Delaware Mandates Sexual-Harassment Training"

Illinois

Applies to all employers and to all direct employees and unpaid interns, but not to independent contractors.
Initial training must be provided within 30 days of hire date and annually thereafter.
More information: Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Program

Maine

Applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
Initial training must be provided within 12 months of hire date.
More information:
- Maine 26 M.R.S.A §807, Employment Practices, Sexual Harassment Policies
- Maine Department of Labor, Sexual Harassment Checklist

New York State

Applies to all employers regardless of number of employees. Training must be provided to all exempt and non-exempt employees, part-time workers, seasonal workers, and temporary workers, regardless of immigration status. Independent contractors, vendors and consultants do not require training.
Initial training must be provided as soon as possible after hiring. Annual recurrent training also required.
Managers and supervisors must be provided with additional training on their responsibilities under company policy and procedures.
More information:

New York City

Applies to all employers with 15 or more employees, but NY State also applies, and therefore training by all employers is required. Training must be provided to all full-time and part-time workers, seasonal workers, and temporary workers, regardless of immigration status. Independent contractors are treated as employees under NY City law, and must be trained.
Initial training must be provided after 90 days from initial hire. Annual recurrent training also required.
Training must be provided (available) in both English and Spanish.
Training must include information concerning bystander intervention.
Managers and supervisors must be provided with additional training on their responsibilities under company policy and procedures.
More information:
- NYC Public Law 96, 2018
- Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act: Frequently Asked Questions