By the Ethica team · Updated

Which States Require Harassment Prevention Training? (2026)

Short answer: six states require most private employers to train their employees to prevent sexual harassment: California, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware and Maine. New York City and Chicago have their own rules on top. Each rule follows where the employee works, not where your company is based, so a single remote hire can bring a new state's rules with them.

For each one you'll find who has to train, how often, what record to keep, and whether there's an official course you can use. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the current law before you rely on it.

The rules, place by place

California

Gov. Code §12950.1; 2 CCR §11024
Who must train
Employers with 5 or more people working for them, counting employees, contractors, unpaid interns and volunteers, wherever they work. Only employees in California must be trained.
How much and how often
At least 1 hour for employees and 2 hours for supervisors, within 6 months of hire or of becoming a supervisor, then every 2 years. Seasonal and temporary staff hired for under 6 months: within 30 days or 100 hours worked.
Record to keep
Keep training records, including certificates, for at least 2 years.
Official course
Yes. The Civil Rights Department's online courses for employees and supervisors, in six languages, each ending with a certificate.
See California in detail →

New York State

Labor Law §201-g
Who must train
Every employer, whatever its size.
How much and how often
Every employee, every year. Training must be interactive. There's no deadline for new hires; train them as soon as possible. Give employees your written policy and the state's notice at hire and at every annual training, in English and their primary language.
Record to keep
No retention period is set; the state encourages keeping records.
Official course
Yes. The New York City Commission on Human Rights' course, which the Commission says meets both the city and state rules, or the state's model video with its answer sheet.
See New York in detail →

New York City

NYC Admin. Code §8-107(30)
Who must train
Employers with 15 or more employees at any point in the current or prior calendar year, counting employees outside the city. Anyone who works more than 80 hours and at least 90 days a year in the city must be trained.
How much and how often
Once every calendar year.
Record to keep
Keep a certificate or signed acknowledgment for each person for at least 3 years.
Official course
Yes. The Commission's online course, in 11 languages, ending with a certificate.
See New York in detail →

Illinois

775 ILCS 5/2-109
Who must train
Every employer with at least one employee working in Illinois, wherever the business is based.
How much and how often
Every employee by December 31 each calendar year; new hires as soon as possible after they start. Restaurants and bars have extra training and a written policy.
Record to keep
Keep a record of all trainings. No retention period is set.
Official course
Yes. The Department of Human Rights' model training, ending with a Certificate of Participation the employee signs.
See Illinois in detail →

Chicago

Chicago Human Rights Ordinance
Who must train
Every employer, whatever its size, for anyone who works in Chicago.
How much and how often
Every year: 1 hour for employees, 2 hours for supervisors and managers, and 1 hour of bystander training for everyone. The city's training year runs July 1 to June 30.
Record to keep
Keep records for at least 5 years.
Official course
Partly. The state's model training covers the employee hour. The city publishes slide decks for the supervisor and bystander parts, which it says employers should expand to fill the hour.

Connecticut

Conn. Gen. Stat. §46a-54(15)
Who must train
Employers with 3 or more employees, counted at any location, for employees based in Connecticut. Employers with fewer than 3 must train supervisors.
How much and how often
2 hours within 6 months of hire, with supplemental training at least every 10 years.
Record to keep
No record is prescribed.
Official course
Yes. The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities' 2-hour online training, with a certificate emailed afterwards.
See Connecticut in detail →

Delaware

19 Del. C. §711A
Who must train
Employers with 50 or more employees in Delaware. Employees with less than 6 months' continuous employment don't have to be trained. Employers with 4 or more employees in Delaware must also give every employee the state's information sheet.
How much and how often
Interactive training within 1 year of hire, then every 2 years. Supervisors need additional training within 1 year of becoming a supervisor, then every 2 years.
Record to keep
No record is prescribed.
Official course
No. The Department of Labor publishes the required information sheet but no course.

Maine

26 M.R.S. §807
Who must train
Training applies to workplaces with 15 or more employees. Every employer must also give each employee an individual written notice about sexual harassment every year.
How much and how often
New employees within 1 year of starting, and additional training for supervisors and managers within 1 year of starting. No refresher is set.
Record to keep
Keep training and attendance records for at least 3 years.
Official course
No. The Department of Labor publishes a compliance checklist but no course.

Other rules worth knowing

Remote and multi-state teams

Each rule applies to the employees who work in that place, wherever your business is based. A Wisconsin company with one employee working from home in Illinois owes that employee Illinois training by December 31; a company with 40 people, a few of them in California, must train its California staff even though most of the team is elsewhere. List where each employee works, then train each group on its own schedule.

How Ethica handles it

For California, New York, Illinois and Connecticut, the official courses are ready to assign: each employee gets an email with a link to the official course and uploads the certificate it gives them. Give people a role for where they work, such as "California", and a Smart Assignment sends each group its course, including new hires, and repeats it on that state's schedule. Notices you have to hand out, such as New York's policy and notice or Maine's annual notice, go out as policies to read and sign, with a record of who signed which version and when.

For Chicago's extra hours, Delaware and Maine there is no official course to link to, so you'll need your own training or a provider's course. Ethica can deliver a course you have and keep the record either way.

Keep reading

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