How well do you know the sexual harassment workplace compliance trends currently sweeping the nation? Do you know how you might be affected in the months ahead by new laws that impact the use of arbitration and non-disclosure agreements within organizations all across the USA? New York, California, and Illinois have all recently mandated Sexual Harassment training in the workplace, and your state may be next! Make sure you are in the know about these new changes, so that you can prepare your team and stay ahead of this important trend.
You may think you know a lot about workplace harassment laws, but they reach far beyond a simple sexual harassment definition. Did you know that there are also now restrictions on non-disclosure provisions in employee agreements? Hiring managers pay attention! These laws were recently implemented in Illinois to ensure protection for employees who raise claims of harassment and discrimination. Individuals are also now granted 21 days in which they can review an NDA, plus an additional seven days to resend an agreement after it has been executed if they decide they do not agree with the terms.
How will this affect you?
Let’s look at California for another example. California law now mandates that all organizations with five or more employees must provide one hour of Sexual Harassment prevention training to employees, and TWO hours of harassment prevention training for their managers.
New York City has a similar requirement, but for organizations with fifteen or more employees. New York State however, mandates this for ALL employers. The minimum standards for this training include providing examples of unlawful harassment conduct, including a complaint form for employees, as well as informing employees in detail of their rights and the procedure in which they must report harassment claims.
These new laws are changing the way in which organizations recruit, hire, onboard, train, and manage their employees. Is your head spinning yet? There’s a lot of information to cover to ensure that you are obeying these new employment laws, and the truth is that it can be overwhelming. With all the new nys harassment laws, nys sexual harassment training protocols, as well as new regulations for sexual harassment training in california, Illinois, Delaware, Connecticut, and Maine, we certainly have a lot to talk about!
Here are the new laws surrounding Sexual harassment prevention training for employees by state:
California Harassment Training Requirements 2019:
Employers must now provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all of their employees who have supervisor duties, AND at least one hour of training to all non-supervisor employees by January. 1st, 2020. They also must provide training to staff once every two years after that.
Connecticut Harassment Training Requirements 2019:
Employers must now provide at least two hours of training to all employees by October. 1st, 2020 and within six months of hiring thereafter.
Delaware Harassment Training Requirements 2019:
Employers with 50 or more employees in the state of Delaware must train new employees within one year of their start date, and then every two years after. This is in addition to training all current employees before January 1st, 2020.
Illinois Harassment Training Requirements 2019:
The Department of Human Rights will develop and adopt a sexual harassment training program, which all employers will use, unless they establish another that “equals or exceeds the minimum standards provided by the model.” Employers must provide this training at least once a year.
Maine Harassment Training Requirements 2019:
Employers must use a checklist developed by the Maine Department of Labor in developing the sexual harassment training program they must use to train every employee within one year of his or her start date.
New York Harassment Training Requirements 2019:
Employers must provide employees an annual, interactive sexual harassment training by October 9th, 2019. 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. (Clarey, 2019)[i]
Your State Could Be Next. Are You Ready?
TrainUp.com has worked with many organizations to help them satisfy the new training requirements of their state. We are experts in this type of training and can guide you through your state’s training requirements. We aim to help you make sense of new changes, and keep your company in compliance with the law. Best of all, we can cover these requirements in addition to adding further value to your employees with a customized and interactive experience, making the process of staying compliant less tedious and a lot more enjoyable.
This is what our clients have to say about our Sexual Harassment training sessions:
“I would [recommend this course]. I definitely think it’s helpful to understand what is legally/institutionally/universally/corporately acceptable since it varies.” – Happy Client
“Great overview of harassment in the workplace, encouraged participation and allowed lots of time for questions.” – Happy Client
If you are seeking training for your team in light of recent compliance laws, please contact us at 866-540-9677, or request our private onsite training for your team here! We also have corporate e-learning solutions to get your team up to speed with new state harassment regulations.
[i] Clarey, K. (2019, April 1). A running list of states and localities with sexual harassment training mandates. Retrieved from https://www.hrdive.com/news/a-running-list-of-states-and-localities-with-sexual-harassment-training-man/551248/
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