As previously reported by the Fast Laner, employers with one or more employees in the City of Chicago that are subject to Chicago licensing requirements or that maintain a business facility within City limits, must meet the City’s annual anti-harassment training requirements.
Among its requirements, the Ordinance requires the following annual training:
- All employees must participate in a minimum of one hour of sexual harassment prevention training.
- Supervisors and managers must participate in a minimum of two hours of sexual harassment prevention training.
- All employees must participate in one hour of bystander training.
Compliance is required annually by June 30th. The City of Chicago has provided template sexual harassment prevention and bystander intervention training materials, which have been prepared both in English and in Spanish. Training materials can and should be tailored to meet the specific needs of employers, especially details relating to reporting mechanisms and other policy statements.
Employers must retain a record of the trainings and other records necessary to demonstrate compliance for at least five years or for the duration of any claim, civil action, or investigation pending pursuant to that section, whichever is longer. Failure to maintain these records creates a presumption, rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer violated the sexual harassment requirements.
Employers should ensure that employees working in Chicago have completed the required annual sexual harassment prevention and bystander intervention trainings by the June 30th deadline.
