Seven States: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New York, Washington, and the District of Columbia, mandate Sexual Harassment Training for some or all private-sector employers and employees. An additional four states: Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, “encourage” but do not require training. For the remaining 39 states, anti-harassment training is considered a “best practice.”

Here is information on required training:

All employers with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment training every two years. New employees and promoted supervisors must be trained within six months of hire/promotion. Training for supervisors must be 2-hours in length; for non-supervisors, the training must be 1-hour in length. Training must include content on abusive conduct, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, remedies available to victims, and practical examples.

Link to training information

All employers with three or more employees must provide two hours of sexual harassment training to all employees. Employees must receive the training within six months of hire. All Connecticut employers, regardless of size, must provide sexual harassment training to supervisors within six months of promotion to a supervisory role. Training must include content on state and federal laws prohibiting sexual harassment, definitions, types of conduct that constitutes sexual harassment, and remedies available to victims.

Link to training information

All employers with 50 or more employees must provide sexual harassment training for all employees and supervisors. Training must be interactive, and new employees must be trained within one year of hire. Supervisors must receive additional content on the responsibilities of a supervisor in preventing and correcting sexual harassment and the legal prohibition against retaliation. All employees and supervisors must be retrained every two years.

Link to training information

All employers of tipped employees are required to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees, including managers, owners, and operators. New employees must be trained within 90 days of hire. Existing employees must be trained within two years. Managers and owners must receive the training every two years. 

Link to training information

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

Link to training information

Employers with 15 or more employees located or doing business in Maine must provide sexual harassment training to all employees within one year of hire. Supervisors and managers must receive additional training within one year of promotion. Training must include the definition and illegality of sexual harassment under state and federal laws, examples of sexual harassment, information on the employer’s complaint process, legal recourse, and information on protections against retaliation. 

Link to training information

All employers in New York are required to provide all employees anti-harassment training annually. The training must be interactive and include an explanation of what constitutes unlawful or sexual harassment, examples of conduct that would be considered unlawful or sexual harassment, information on state and federal laws concerning sexual harassment and resources for victims, and information on employees’ rights and forums for resolving complaints administratively and judicially.

Link to training information

All employers in New York City with more than 15 employees are required to provide annual sexual harassment prevention training to all employees, supervisors, and managers. Employers must provide sexual harassment prevention training to new employees within 90 days of hire.

Link to training information

The state of Washington’s mandatory sexual harassment training law requires all hotel, motel, retail, security guard entities, and property services contractors to provide sexual harassment training. Specifically, the law requires that any janitor, security guard, hotel or motel housekeeper, or room service attendant who spends most of their working hours alone, or whose primary work responsibility involves working without another coworker present receives this sexual harassment prevention training.

Link to sexual harassment information

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