Chicago Clarifies the City’s Sexual Harassment Prevention Requirements

The Chicago Commission on Human Relations has issued updated guidance clarifying the expanded sexual harassment prevention policy, posting and training requirements enacted in 2022. 

First, the guidance makes clear that all employers with employees in Chicago must comply with the policy, posting and training requirements. Second, it clarifies the annual training requirements for supervisory and non-supervisory employees working in or outside Chicago.

Chicago-based non-supervisory employees must receive:

• One hour of sexual harassment training; and
• One hour of bystander intervention training.

Chicago-based supervisors must receive:

• Two hours of sexual harassment training; and
• One hour of bystander intervention training.

Supervisors outside of Chicago who manage Chicago-based employees must receive:

• Two hours of sexual harassment training. (Interestingly, the guidance does not indicate that they must receive bystander intervention training.)

The 2022 Amendments and Deadlines to Comply

In April 2022, the Chicago City Council amended the city’s Human Rights Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) to expand the sexual harassment prevention policy, posting and training requirements applicable to employers with employees in Chicago. The new provisions took effect on July 1, 2022, and employers were required to establish a compliant sexual harassment policy and post the required notices by that date. The deadline to comply with the expanded training requirements is June 30, 2023.

The Expanded Training Requirements

Employers should note that the expanded training requirements cover more employees than training requirements in other states and localities. 

Under the Ordinance, non-supervisory employees who work in Chicago must participate in at least one hour of sexual harassment training and one hour of bystander intervention training each year. Supervisors who work in Chicago must receive at least two hours of sexual harassment training and one hour of bystander intervention training annually. In addition, a supervisor who is located outside of Chicago but who manages Chicago employees must receive at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training each year. Because the Chicago requirements reach managers who work outside the city, they are broader than, for example, California’s training requirements which mandate that supervisors get two hours of training but cover only managers who work in the state.

The Updated Guidance

The city recently amended its guidance to clarify that, “the policy and posting requirements of the new sexual harassment protections apply to all employers whose employees work in Chicago. The training requirement applies for all employees who work in Chicago, even if remote, and their managers or supervisors, even if the managers or supervisors work outside of Chicago.”

Employers with any employees working in Chicago must:

• Establish a written sexual harassment prevention policy,
• Post the required notice, and
• Comply with the training requirements no later than June 30, 2023, by providing:
  • One hour of sexual harassment training and one hour of bystander intervention training to all Chicago-based non-supervisory employees;
  • Two hours of sexual harassment training and one hour of bystander intervention training to Chicago-based supervisors; and
  • Two hours of sexual harassment training to supervisors outside of Chicago who manage Chicago employees.

How Clear Law Can Help

Clear Law ensures that its clients comply with all sexual harassment training laws. We offer both one-hour and two-hour versions of our sexual harassment prevention course and a one-hour version of our bystander intervention training, which complies with the Chicago requirements.

Consistent with EEOC guidelines and court decisions, Clear Law’s interactive, online harassment training covers not just sexual harassment, but all forms of workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. 

The online course is fully customizable; each organization can include their logo, workplace images, introductory messages, and unique policies and procedures for preventing and addressing workplace discrimination.

Learn more about Clear Law Institute’s full suite of online sexual harassment training. Clear Law Institute is also proud to offer harassment prevention compliance packages, which include required policies, notices, and postings for each jurisdiction in which employers operate. If you have any questions about the law, please contact us at 703-372-0550 or at [email protected].

About the Author

Elissa Rossi, VP of Compliance Services, has practiced employment law and litigation at various law firms, including Boyd Richards and Wilkie Farr. She also has served as an Assistant Attorney General in New York’s Attorney General’s Office. Elissa has represented clients in state and federal actions and in administrative proceedings before the EEOC and other regulatory bodies. Elissa is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago Law School.

This article is for information purposes only. Its contents do not constitute legal advice and readers should not regard this article as a substitute for detailed advice in individual instances