What is harassment prevention training?
Harassment prevention training is a company’s practice of teaching employees how to recognize and react to any harassment that occurs in the workplace. The goal of providing this training is to establish a safe and comfortable environment.
To ensure this training is as effective as possible, companies use harassment prevention training software to provide compliance and prevention education. Using online resources to train employees is both scalable and cost-effective when meeting requirements set by the state.
Types of harassment prevention training
Companies use two main types of harassment prevention training, each covering different rules and regulations.
- Employee training: This training should offer a clear message that condemns harassment and emphasizes the company’s commitment to creating a safe working environment for all team members. Topics covered in this training typically comprise ways to deal with harassment, the company policy against harassment, defining unwelcome conduct and behavior, and filing a complaint. This should also include resources for sexual harassment victims, including addresses, helpline numbers, and websites.
- Manager or supervisor training: In addition to the topics in employee training, managers should learn about methods for creating a harassment-free workplace and procedures for dealing with matters or incidents where harassment takes place. Employers should stress to supervisors that harassment won’t be tolerated as they train to handle, investigate, and resolve complaints.
States with mandated harassment prevention training
In the United States, six states have mandated harassment prevention training with specific details regarding how the training takes place.
- California: In 2005, California Assembly Bill 1825 became effective. At the time, it required two hours of sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years. In 2021, Senate Bill 1343 expanded this to require non-supervisor employees to one hour of training every two years.
- Connecticut: The Time’s Up Act was established in 2019. It requires two hours of sexual harassment training for all employees. Training isn’t required a second time, but periodic supplemental training is required for all employees at least every ten years.
- Delaware: Under the Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act (DDEA), amended in 2018, employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees every two years.
- Illinois: In 2019, Senate Bill 27 was passed, which included the Workplace Transparency Act. This states all employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees every year. In addition to this act, Public Act 100-0762 requires licensed professionals with continuing education requirements to complete at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training annually. The city of Chicago has its own law requiring workplace harassment training with its own set of requirements. This mandates both employees and supervisors to receive an additional hour of bystander intervention training.
- Maine: State law requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide sexual harassment training to all employees within the first year of a new hire. The law doesn’t require training to be repeated, but businesses should consider further training every few years.
- New York: As of 2019, employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees yearly. In addition, the 2020 “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act” applies to employers with 15 or more employees. As per this act, annual sexual harassment training for all New York City employees, freelancers, interns, and independent contractors is mandatory.
Other states, such as Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Vermont, and Wisconsin, have laws that “encourage” employers to provide harassment training to employees.
Benefits of harassment prevention training
Holding harassment prevention training benefits both the organization and its employees. Prevention training:
- Creates a safer workplace environment. Harassment prevention training outlines what is and isn’t acceptable behavior, removing any gray areas or misunderstandings. Removing this discomfort and anxiety can go a long way in ensuring employees feel safe at work.
- Strengthens company culture. A big part of company culture is the ways an organization takes action to prevent harassment or, conversely, how it allows employees to work in a hostile work environment. Providing employees with a safe and productive workplace supports company goals, values, and procedures accompanying culture.
- Empowers employees. When employees regularly attend harassment prevention training, they feel empowered to disclose problems or issues they’ve encountered that go against these policies. Without knowing what qualifies as harassment, it’s difficult and stressful to be able to recognize it, report it, and avoid becoming a victim. This training educates the team on unacceptable behavior and encourages employees to come forward if they experience a hostile work environment.
- Establishes a zero-tolerance policy. Running a harassment prevention training program and adopting its policies is less expensive for organizations than defending itself against every harassment claim. Employers with a zero-tolerance policy reduce the odds of a lawsuit or a hefty fine.
Harassment prevention training best practices
When conducting harassment prevention training, organizations should consider the following best practices.
- Feature relevant content. The information within the training should be relevant to the organization. For example, training materials designed for an office environment won’t be as effective or useful for retail employees.
- Go over state and local laws. Since harassment laws and regulations vary by state, ensure the training program meets the state’s training standards while covering state and local anti-harassment laws. In addition to the topics covered, the length of the training program should also meet state standards.
- Make sure the material is updated. The training material within a company’s program should match the most recent updates to the law and court orders.
Learn more about dispute resolution tactics to prepare for handling harassment claims.
Mara Calvello
Mara Calvello is a Content and Communications Manager at G2. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Elmhurst College (now Elmhurst University). Mara writes customer marketing content, while also focusing on social media and communications for G2. She previously wrote content to support our G2 Tea newsletter, as well as categories on artificial intelligence, natural language understanding (NLU), AI code generation, synthetic data, and more. In her spare time, she's out exploring with her rescue dog Zeke or enjoying a good book.
