Sexual Harassment Training Requirements by State (2026 Update)

Sexual harassment training is not a federal mandate, but as of 2026, more than a dozen states and several major cities require employers to provide it, with specific rules on content, frequency, duration, and documentation. Employers operating across state lines face a patchwork of requirements that vary in who must be trained, how often, how long the training must last, and what it must cover. Getting it wrong does not just expose you to fines. It weakens your legal defense if a harassment claim reaches litigation.

This guide maps the current state-by-state landscape, identifies the requirements that trip up multi-state employers, and outlines documentation practices that keep you compliant everywhere you operate.

Why State Mandates Matter Beyond Compliance

Before diving into the state matrix, understand the legal context. In harassment litigation, employers often raise the Faragher-Ellerth affirmative defense, which requires showing that the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment. Documented training is the primary evidence of that reasonable care.

In states that mandate training, failure to provide it effectively eliminates this defense. The employer cannot claim reasonable care when they have not met the minimum legal standard. In states without mandates, documented training still strengthens the defense but is not legally required.

The question is not whether your state requires harassment training. The question is whether, when a harassment complaint reaches litigation, you can demonstrate that you trained the accused, the victim, and the victim’s manager on your anti-harassment policies and reporting procedures before the incident occurred.

State-by-State Requirements (2026)

California

Statute: Government Code Section 12950.1 (SB 1343)

• Who must comply: Employers with 5 or more employees
• Who must be trained: All employees, including supervisors, temporary workers, and seasonal employees
• Supervisor training: 2 hours minimum
• Non-supervisory employee training: 1 hour minimum
• Frequency: Every 2 years
• New hire deadline: Within 6 months of hire or promotion to supervisory role
• Content requirements: Must include information about harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Must include practical examples. Must be interactive (questions, hypothetical scenarios, opportunity to ask questions). Must include information about remedies available to victims.
• Delivery: Classroom, online (if interactive), webinar, or other effective interactive method
• Record retention: 2 years

Connecticut

Statute: Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 46a-54(15)(B)

• Who must comply: Employers with 3 or more employees
• Who must be trained: All employees
• Supervisor training: 2 hours
• Non-supervisory employee training: 2 hours
• Frequency: Existing employees every 3 years; new hires within 6 months
• Content requirements: Must include definition of harassment, examples, remedies, and reporting procedures
• Delivery: In-person or online
• Record retention: Not specified by statute; retain for at least 3 years (best practice matching the training cycle)

Delaware

Statute: 19 Del. C. Section 711A

• Who must comply: Employers with 50 or more employees
• Who must be trained: All employees
• Supervisor training: Additional training on responsibilities
• Frequency: Every 2 years
• New hire deadline: Within 1 year of hire
• Content requirements: Must cover illegality, definition, examples, internal complaint process, legal remedies, and supervisor-specific responsibilities
• Delivery: Not specified; interactive recommended

Illinois

Statute: Workplace Transparency Act (775 ILCS 5/2-109)

• Who must comply: All employers regardless of size
• Who must be trained: All employees
• Frequency: Annual
• Content requirements: Must meet or exceed standards set by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, including definition, examples, prevention, and reporting. Restaurants and bars have additional requirements under the Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act.
• Delivery: In-person or online
• Special requirements: Restaurants and bars must include specific supplemental content on bystander intervention

Maine

Statute: 26 M.R.S.A. Section 807

• Who must comply: Employers with 15 or more employees
• Who must be trained: All employees
• Supervisor training: Additional training on supervisor responsibilities
• Frequency: Within 1 year of hire for new employees; no specified renewal cycle (annual recommended)
• Content requirements: Must cover illegality, definition, examples, complaint process, and protection against retaliation

New York State

Statute: N.Y. Lab. Law Section 201-g

• Who must comply: All employers regardless of size
• Who must be trained: All employees, including part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers
• Frequency: Annual
• Content requirements: Must be interactive, include examples of harassment, information on federal, state, and local laws, complaint procedures, supervisor responsibilities, and bystander intervention topics. The state provides a model training that meets minimum requirements.
• Delivery: In-person, online, or blended; must be interactive

New York City

Statute: NYC Admin. Code Section 8-107(30)

• Who must comply: Employers with 15 or more employees (including interns)
• Additional requirements beyond state mandate: Training must address bystander intervention specifically, discuss responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees, and include specific information about the NYC Commission on Human Rights complaint process
• Frequency: Annual
• Record retention: 3 years

Washington

Statute: No statewide general employer mandate (as of 2026), but state agencies, educational institutions, and certain industries have specific requirements under WAC regulations. Proposed legislation has been introduced in multiple sessions.

Other States with Partial Requirements

Several states require harassment training for specific groups without mandating it for all private employers:

• Massachusetts: Required for state employees; strongly recommended for private employers with 6 or more employees per M.G.L. c. 151B
• Vermont: Required for state employees; recommended for all employers with model training program provided
• Rhode Island: All employers must provide information about harassment within the workplace; employers with 50+ employees must provide harassment prevention training to new supervisors within one year of hire under R.I. Gen. Laws Section 28-51-2
• Washington D.C.: Tipped employees must receive harassment training under the Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Amendment Act

Multi-State Employer Strategy

Default to the Most Stringent Standard

If you operate in California, Illinois, and a state with no mandate, apply California and Illinois requirements to all employees in those states and consider applying the same standard nationwide. This approach:

• Simplifies program administration
• Ensures compliance in every jurisdiction
• Provides the strongest litigation defense regardless of where a claim is filed
• Avoids the risk of an employee relocating between states and falling through a gap

Track Requirements by Employee Location, Not Company HQ

An employee’s training obligation is determined by where they work, not where the employer is headquartered. A remote employee in California working for a company based in Texas is subject to California requirements. Build your training assignment logic around employee location.

For compliance training platforms, this means your system must support location-based assignment rules. When an employee’s work location changes, their training requirements should update automatically.

Document Beyond the Minimum

Even in states with no mandate, document harassment training delivery. The litigation risk exists everywhere, and the affirmative defense requires evidence everywhere. The audit trail you maintain for mandatory states should extend to all employees.

Multi-state employers that maintain a single, company-wide harassment training program aligned to the most stringent state requirements eliminate the administrative complexity of tracking different standards by state. The marginal cost of training all employees to California or New York standards is trivial compared to the administrative cost of maintaining state-specific programs.

Content Requirements: What Training Must Cover

While specific requirements vary by state, the common content elements across mandates include:

Legal Framework

• Federal protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• Applicable state and local anti-harassment laws
• Protected categories (which vary by state; some include gender identity, sexual orientation, and other categories not covered at the federal level)

Definitions and Examples

• Legal definition of sexual harassment, including quid pro quo and hostile work environment
• Practical examples specific to the employer’s industry
• Examples of conduct that may constitute harassment even if the harasser did not intend harm

Reporting and Response

• The employer’s internal complaint procedure
• External filing options (EEOC, state civil rights agency, local human rights commission)
• Anti-retaliation protections
• The employer’s investigation process

Supervisor-Specific Content

• Obligation to report harassment observed or reported
• How to receive and escalate complaints
• Liability for failure to act
• Avoiding retaliation, both direct and indirect

Bystander Intervention (Required in Some Jurisdictions)

• Techniques for safe intervention when witnessing harassment
• Creating a supportive environment for reporting
• Role of witnesses in investigations

For a broader look at how to structure compliance training delivery, see our compliance training frequency guide.

Documentation Best Practices

What to Record for Each Employee

For every harassment training completion, maintain:

• Employee name, ID, job title, and work location (state/city)
• Date and time of completion
• Training version and content outline (demonstrating that the training met the applicable state’s content requirements)
• Duration (must meet minimum hour requirements where specified)
• Delivery method (in-person, online, blended)
• Interactive component completion (for states requiring interactivity)
• Assessment results, if applicable
• Employee acknowledgment of completion

State-Specific Retention Schedules

State	Minimum Retention
California	2 years
New York City	3 years
Illinois	No specific statute; retain through training cycle + 1 year
Connecticut	Retain through 3-year training cycle + 1 year (best practice)
All others	Retain for duration of employment + statute of limitations period

Given that harassment claims can be filed years after the alleged conduct, retaining training records for the duration of employment plus the applicable statute of limitations (which ranges from 180 days under federal law to up to 3 years under some state laws) is the prudent approach. For a comprehensive guide to retention schedules, see training record retention requirements.

Technology for Multi-State Compliance

A learning management system with location-based assignment rules and automated certification tracking is effectively required for employers with employees in multiple mandated states. Key capabilities:

• Location-based auto-assignment: Assign the correct training version based on employee work state/city
• Renewal automation: Track each state’s cycle and trigger automated reminders before expiration
• Content versioning: Maintain state-specific training versions and link completions to the correct version
• Reporting by jurisdiction: Generate compliance reports by state showing percentage of employees with current training
• Audit export: Produce documentation packages for any state regulator or litigation discovery request

Use our Compliance Gap Calculator to identify which employees may have lapsed requirements across your jurisdictions.

Penalties and Enforcement

Direct Regulatory Penalties

State	Penalty Range
California	Civil Rights Department citation; potential monetary penalties
New York City	Up to $250,000 for pattern/practice violations
Illinois	Civil penalties through Illinois Department of Human Rights
Connecticut	Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities investigation

Indirect Consequences

Beyond regulatory penalties, non-compliance creates significant indirect exposure:

• Weakened litigation defense: As noted above, failure to provide mandated training effectively eliminates the Faragher-Ellerth defense
• Increased settlement pressure: Plaintiffs’ attorneys specifically ask for training records during discovery. Missing records increase the employer’s settlement exposure.
• Reputational risk: Regulatory findings related to harassment training failures are often publicly available
• Insurance implications: Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) carriers may require evidence of harassment training as a condition of coverage or may reduce coverage for claims where mandated training was not provided

The Bottom Line

Sexual harassment training mandates will continue expanding. States that do not currently require training are likely to adopt requirements in coming years, following the trend set by California, New York, and Illinois. Employers who build a robust, documented, location-aware training program now are investing in both compliance and risk management. The training protects employees, the documentation protects the organization, and the consistency across jurisdictions simplifies what is otherwise an administrative burden. For broader guidance on managing compliance training across regulatory frameworks, see our compliance training software guide and the training management system guide. Use our Audit Readiness Score to benchmark your documentation posture across all compliance requirements.

For detailed workplace training requirements in specific states, see our compliance guides: New York State, Illinois, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, Texas, and New Jersey. Use our compliance training calendar template to track renewal deadlines across jurisdictions.