Earlier this year, the city of Chicago, Illinois, amended its sexual harassment laws to require all employers to provide a written workplace policy on sexual harassment to their employees, as well as annual sexual harassment prevention training. As of July 1, 2022, all Chicago-based employers must have their written policy on sexual harassment available in the employee's primary language and promoted via posters. Employers must also provide annual anti-harassment and discrimination training for employees.
In response, LRN updated its Anti-Harassment & Discrimination (US edition) training course to address the new sexual harassment regulations in Chicago. This training focuses on expectations around behavior in the workplace and how each of us is expected to treat our fellow employees. The anti-harassment and discrimination training is also intended to help learners recognize situations that may involve harassment or discrimination and identify what to do when they experience or witness these situations in the workplace.
Why does workplace harassment training matter?
People want a workplace where they feel valued, empowered to speak up, and safe knowing that their colleagues will stand up for them instead of looking the other way. Yet according the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), almost 75% of individuals—three out of four people—who experience workplace harassment or discrimination do not report it. The costs of not reporting harassment at work can be severe financially, professionally, and reputationally for both employees and their organizations. That’s why it is crucial to provide anti-harassment and discrimination training in the workplace. When implemented effectively, this type of training can help organizations avoid major compliance issues, improve team dynamics and professional relationships, and build a more ethical culture that positively impacts business performance.
What are the sexual harassment prevention training requirements for Chicago, Illinois?
Last month, we explored the details of the new Chicago requirements in another blog post. Here are some highlights:
- New definition of sexual harassment: Expanded to include sexual misconduct
- New mandated training durations: One hour of AHD training for all employees, and two hours of AHD training for supervisors
- New topic requirement: One hour of Bystander training for all employees
- Date effective: July 1, 2022, with one year to train
About the updates to LRN’s Anti-Harassment & Discrimination training course
LRN updated its anti-harassment and discrimination course to meet reflect Chicago’s changes and meet the duration mandates, including an enhanced course profiler to help E&C professionals easily manage and deliver the right content to the right people. Learners can select their specific location at the beginning of the course with our location profiling.
Here are additional updates we are making in the LRN Library:
- Redesigned profiler options: “Illinois – Chicago” or “Illinois – other”
- Chicago-specific content is included in the Illinois Law lesson
- Chicago learners will receive a longer course than other Illinois users to meet the mandated duration
- New single-screen “Chicago Training Requirement” lesson to explain the mandated duration to learners
- Bystander: We will publish a one-hour Bystander course in September. It will fulfill the Chicago requirement and will be globally appropriate for any partner who wishes to train on bystander intervention
The key takeaway
LRN is here to help ensure your training is compliant and effective, and we are always monitoring and updating courses based on regulation updates. Check out these anti-harassment and discrimination training resources to learn more:
