The revised Chicago ordinance also requires annual sexual harassment training: one hour for employees and two hours for supervisors. The Commission on Human Relations will release model training materials later this week.

If your organization has one or more employees in Chicago, please reach out to your partners at Lake Effect to ensure you are in compliance with the new requirements.

Lake Effect is here to answer your questions about training, policies, and practices to keep your workplace free of harassment and discrimination. We continue to monitor important legal and HR developments that affect employers. Please watch our blogs and emails for these important updates, as well as discussions of how compliance meets culture. To dive into these issues, contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

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The law expands the definition of “sexual harassment” to explicitly include sexual misconduct, “which means any behavior of a sexual nature which also involves coercion, abuse of authority, or misuse of an individual’s employment position.” The law also lengthens the reporting periods on all discrimination claims and increases penalties for discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act, which applies to employers with one or more Illinois employees, already requires sexual harassment prevention training. While this training is likely sufficient to comply with some of the new training requirements in Chicago, it may not satisfy all the new requirements. Lake Effect will monitor Chicago’s website for further developments and be ready to advise impacted employers when the new materials are available. Please look for an email update from Lake Effect at that time, and then let us know if you want our assistance.

Lake Effect is here to answer your questions about training, policies, and practices to keep your workplace free of harassment and discrimination. We continue to monitor important legal and HR developments, as well as COVID-related updates from federal, state, and local authorities. Please watch our blogs and emails for these important updates, as well as discussions of how compliance meets culture. To dive into these issues, contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

The post Chicago Expands Anti-Harassment Laws appeared first on Lake Effect HR & Law.

In 2019, Illinois adopted a new law requiring employers to provide annual sexual harassment prevention training to all Illinois employees. This requirement also applies to employers based in other states that have one or more employees working remotely in Illinois or working at a customer’s worksite in Illinois. All Illinois employees must be trained by December 31, 2020. Restaurants and bars must also provide supplemental sexual harassment prevention training targeted specifically for those industries.

Two major points about the new training requirement from the state’s FAQs:

• Although employers are not required to train independent contractors, Illinois strongly advises that independent contractors receive training if they work on-site at an employer’s workplace or interact with employees.
• Employers should include in their anti-harassment training any employee who is based outside of Illinois but regularly works with employees in the state. For example, a manager based in Wisconsin who supervises employees working in Illinois should be included in the training.

While virtual training may be the only option in our current environment, employers should keep in mind that the EEOC has found that anti-harassment training is most effective when it is tailored to the specific workplace and workforce, as well as provided in-person, with interactive discussion, and by an experienced trainer.

The attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to assist and advise if you have questions related to anti-harassment or other employee training. Contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

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This training requirement applies to all New York employers with 15 or more total workers. “Workers” includes employees who work outside of New York City and independent contractors. This means that if a Wisconsin based employer has 14 employees in Wisconsin and 1 employee or independent contractor in New York City, that employer must provide the required sexual harassment training to the worker in New York City, and comply with the other applicable New York State and New York City laws. Note that as of February 8, 2020, the New York State Human Right Law will apply to all employers with at least 1 employee in New York.

The attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect HR & Law are ready and willing to assist and advise if you have questions related to mandatory anti-harassment training or independent contractors in Wisconsin or other states. Contact us at info@LE-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.

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