Legal Update
Jun 5, 2023
Reminder: Looming June 30, 2023 Sexual Harassment Training Deadlines for Chicago Employers
By: Kyla Miller and Uma Chandrasekaran
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers must ensure their employees complete required sexual harassment training by June 30, 2023 pursuant to the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance which was amended last year and imposed new requirements on Chicago employers with respect to preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. The amended ordinance was previously summarized by our team here. Pursuant to the Ordinance, all employees working in Chicago must participate in sexual harassment prevention training and bystander training annually or they will be subject to heightened penalties.
What Are the Basic Training Requirements?
The training must include 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention for all employees (2 hours for supervisors/managers), and 1 hour of bystander training for all employees. The City has stated that Illinois’ sexual harassment training template, which provides one hour of training, will be sufficient to comply with the required hour of sexual harassment prevention training for employees. Template sexual harassment and bystander intervention trainings, as well as additional training and informational materials, are available on the City of Chicago website.
Employers must conduct the first round of required training between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 and annually thereafter.
Which Employers Are Covered?
According to the Commission, an “employer” for this purpose is “any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, business trust, or any person or group of persons that provides employment for one or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such an entity or person.”
Chicago’s recent guidance makes clear that the Ordinance applies not only to employers who are located in Chicago, but also to employers who are located outside of Chicago and have employees who occasionally work in Chicago, even if remote. The guidance includes the following Q&A, which confirms the broad application of the sexual harassment training requirements:
Q: My business has employees who occasionally work within the geographical boundaries of Chicago. Is my business required to . . . conduct sexual harassment training?
A: Yes . . . 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.
Which Employees Are Covered?
Pursuant to the above Q&A, any employee who works in Chicago (including remote work), and any manager or supervisor of an employee working in Chicago, according to the above definition.
Do Employers Need to Maintain Training Records?
Yes. Employers must retain written records of the trainings provided for at least five years, or the duration of any claim, civil action or investigation pending (whichever is longer). Failure to maintain records creates a rebuttable presumption that the employer violated the training requirements of the Ordinance.
Are There Penalties For Non-Compliance?
Yes. Violations of the recordkeeping requirements will result in fines ranging between $500 and $1,000 per day per offense.
Will Compliance With Illinois Training Requirements Result in Chicago Training Compliance?
Not entirely. As detailed above, Illinois’ required training will satisfy a portion of Chicago’s required trainings. But, Chicago’s training requirements are more robust in both length and content than the state requirements. Under the Chicago Ordinance, employers must also provide an additional hour of prevention training for supervisors and managers, and one hour of bystander intervention training for all employees annually.
Also note, the IHRA does not have any notice or recordkeeping requirements, while the City Ordinance requires both – with steep penalties for noncompliance.
How Can Seyfarth Help?
Our Seyfarth at Work subsidiary offers interactive on-site or virtual instructor-led harassment and bystander training that complies with the Chicago requirements. Computer based eLearning modules are also available.
For more information, contact the authors, your Seyfarth attorney or Rachel Guisinger, Managing Director at Seyfarth at Work via email at rguisinger@seyfarth.com or via phone at 704-925-6033.