Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) Training Requirements

Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (WTA) Compliance Requirements

All Illinois employers are required to provide Sexual Harassment Prevention training to all employees

The WTA, effective January 1, 2020

Click here  to view the complete Public Act 101-0221,

WTA applies to all Illinois employers with one or more employees.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Requirements:

Employers with one or more employees working in Illinois must:

• Provide sexual harassment prevention training on an annual basis.

• The law directs the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) to establish a model training program. Employers may use the model program or provide training that is compliant with at least the minimum requirements of the model program.

• Be aware: Contract employees can now assert claims under the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”),

• • Also note: Job-protected leave is available under the Victims Economic Security and Safety Act (“VESSA”) to “gender violence” victims.

Special Note:

Sexual Harassment Prevention for Restaurants and Bars:

The law imposes additional sexual harassment prevention requirements on restaurants and bars. “Restaurant” includes, but is not limited to, coffee shops, cafeterias, and catering facilities.

Restaurants and bars are also required to provide a written sexual harassment policy to all employees within the first calendar week of the employee’s employment.

The Illinois Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act

Requires hotels and casinos to equip employees who work alone in guest rooms, restrooms or casino floors, with a safety or notification device that will summon help if the employee reasonably believes that an ongoing crime, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other emergency is occurring in the employee’s presence.

All hotel and casino employers are also required to develop, maintain, and comply with a written anti-sexual harassment policy that contains certain details specified in the law.

Expanded Discrimination Protection

The new definition of “employer” under the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) means that small businesses in Illinois may be subject to race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and age discrimination claims and other claims.

Previously the law only applied to employers with 15 or more employees. Now the law covers all employers with one or more employees working in Illinois.

Illinois Employers Should:

Review their harassment training programs policies and guidelines to ensure compliance with all WAT regulations.

Click here for information on: Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (“WTA”) sexual harassment training options.

Let us show you how easy and cost effective it is to bring instructor-led workplace harassment training sessions to your organization today.

Give us a call toll free at 877-385-5515 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

We will be happy to answers all of your questions about our workplace harassment training solutions.

CA Harassment/Discrimination Prevention Policy Requirements

CA employers must adopt a discrimination, harassment, and retaliation prevention policy meeting specific requirements.

New Policy and Training Requirements

Note: The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) was renamed the California Civil Rights Department (CRD).

California's Fair Employment and Housing Council ("FEHC") has adopted the § 11023 Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Correction regulations under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). These regulations take effect April 1, 2016.

The regulations make it clear California employers have an affirmative duty to take reasonable steps to prevent and promptly correct discriminatory and harassing conduct.

The new regulations require that employers adopt a written discrimination, harassment, and retaliation prevention policy that meets specific requirements. The regulations re-enforces that employers have the obligation to prevent as well as correct discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace.

Employers must continue to provide employees with a copy of the DFEH brochure on sexual harassment (DFEH-185) and/or an alternative anti-harassment policy that complies with Government Code section 12950.

The new regulation also requires employers to have a discrimination, harassment, and retaliation prevention policy that:

(1) Is in writing;

(2) Lists all current protected categories covered under the Act;

(3) Indicates that the law prohibits coworkers and third parties, as well as supervisors and managers, with whom the employee comes into contact from engaging in conduct prohibited by the Act;

(4) Creates a complaint process to ensure that complaints receive:

(A) An employer's designation of confidentiality, to the extent possible;
(B) A timely response;
(C) Impartial and timely investigations by qualified personnel;
(D) Documentation and tracking for reasonable progress;
(E) Appropriate options for remedial actions and resolutions; and
(F) Timely closures.

(5) Provides a complaint mechanism that does not require an employee to complain directly to his or her immediate supervisor, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) Direct communication, either orally or in writing, with a designated company representative, such as a human resources manager, EEO officer, or other supervisor; and/or
(B) A complaint hotline; and/or
(C) Access to an ombudsperson; and/or
(D) Identification of the Department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as additional avenues for employees to lodge complaints.

(6) Instructs supervisors to report any complaints of misconduct to a designated company representative, such as a human resources manager, so the company can try to resolve the claim internally. Employers with 50 or more employees are required to include this as a topic in mandated sexual harassment prevention training, pursuant to section 11024 of these regulations.

(7) Indicates that when an employer receives allegations of misconduct, it will conduct a fair, timely, and thorough investigation that provides all parties appropriate due process and reaches reasonable conclusions based on the evidence collected.

(8) States that confidentiality will be kept by the employer to the extent possible, but not indicate that the investigation will be completely confidential.

(9) Indicates that if at the end of the investigation misconduct is found, appropriate remedial measures shall be taken.

(10) Makes clear that employees shall not be exposed to retaliation as a result of lodging a complaint or participating in any workplace investigation.

Plus:

• Dissemination of the policy shall include one or more of the following methods:
  
  
  • Printing and providing a copy to all employees with an acknowledgment form for the employee to sign and return;
  • Sending the policy via e-mail with an acknowledgment return form;
  • Posting current versions of the policies on a company intranet with a tracking system ensuring all employees have read and acknowledged receipt of the policies;
  • Discussing policies upon hire and/or during a new hire orientation session; and/or
  • Any other way that ensures employees receive and understand the policies.

• Any employer whose workforce at any facility or establishment contains 10 percent or more of persons who speak a language other than English as their spoken language shall translate the policy into every language that is spoken by at least 10 percent of the workforce.

California employers should:

• Review and update their anti-discrimination and harassment policies.
• Distribute these policies via one or more of the approved methods (this is in addition to Form DFEH-185).
• Make certain proper complaint and investigation procedures are in place.
• Make certain human resources personnel are trained on how to address all discrimination and harassment policy questions and how to handle any complaints.

For more information contact on these new requirements:

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) was renamed the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) on July 1, 2022

 CA Civil Rights Department (CRD) Call 800-884-1684 (voice) or 800-700-2320 (TTY) or visit their website at https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/Employment/

© 2025 Alliance Training and Consulting, Inc.

New Connecticut Sexual Harassment Training Regs

UPDATE: Connecticut State Sexual Harassment Training Law is now in effect.

As of January 1, 2019, employers in Delaware with 50 or more employees must provide sexual harassment training to all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees every two years and within one year of starting a supervisory or nonsupervisory position.

Employers with more than 3 employees must provide sexual harassment training for all employees.

• Current employees must be trained by October 1, 2020.
• Employees or supervisors hired after October 1, 2019 must be trained within 6 months of hiring (or placement in a supervisory position). Training must be “updated” every 10 years.
• The training must be at least two hours in length for both non-supervisory and supervisory employees.
  
  

Requirements for supervisory employees

• For supervisors, the training program must cover specific responsibilities of supervisory employees for preventing and correcting sexual harassment and retaliation.

View our Sexual Harassment Training Courses

New CT Harassment Posting Requirements:

Required Posters:

• CT English Sexual Harassment Prevention Poster (PDF)
  
  
• CT Spanish Sexual Harassment Prevention Poster (PDF)
  
  
• CT English Discrimination Prevention Poster (PDF)
  
  
• CT Spanish Discrimination Prevention Poster (PDF)

Effective October 1, 2019, employers with more than 3 employees must prominently post a notice of its sexual harassment policy and provide a copy of the notice to all employees within 3 months of being hired.

The notice must be posted on the employer’s intranet site (if the employer maintains one)

Or, if sent by email, the email must state in the subject line: “Sexual Harassment Policy.”

A new provision prohibits a manufacturer, when responding to an allegation of harassment, from changing the claimant’s “conditions of employment” without his or her written consent.

Also, the legislature expanded the period for a claimant to file a charge of discrimination or retaliation with the state agency from 180 days to 300 days.

Manufacturers should consider updating their policies and training programs in advance of these laws’ effective dates.

click here to request more information on 

Sexual Harassment Class tailored to your specific needs.

Let us show you how easy and cost effective it is to bring these instructor-led workplace harassment training sessions to your organization today.

Give us a call toll free at 877-385-5515 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

We will be happy to answers all of your questions about our workplace harassment training solutions.

Multi-Prong Strategy Essential to Preventing Workplace Harassment

PRESS RELEASE: 10-23-15

Panel of Experts Identify Practices That Can Curb Harassment at Public Meeting of EEOC Select Task Force

LOS ANGELES - Placing pressure on companies by buyers, empowering bystanders to be part of the solution, multiple access points for reporting harassment, prompt investigations, and swift disciplinary action when warranted, along with strong support from top leadership, are some of the measures employers can take to prevent workplace harassment, panels of experts told the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace (STF) at a public meeting held yesterday in Los Angeles.

This was the second public meeting of the STF, and the first to be held outside of Washington, DC. The STF was announced by EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang in March, 2015, and it is co-chaired by EEOC Commissioners Chai R. Feldblum and Victoria A. Lipnic. Members of the STF include individuals representing the worlds of academia, law, labor, and business. This meeting was designed to explore innovative steps to prevent workplace harassment.

"If there is one thing we have learned so far, it is that the more we can do to prevent harassment before it happens, the better off we will all be," said Feldblum. "Remedying harassment is never as good as stopping it before it happened."

Judge Laura Safer Espinoza, Director of the Fair Food Standards Council, described an innovative, market-driven program that has demonstrated success in stopping sexual harassment and violence. Participating buyers, including McDonalds and Walmart, buy their tomatoes only from growers who implement a human rights-based Code of Conduct monitored and enforced by the Council. "This market-driven model has - in four short years of implementation - brought an end to impunity for sexual harassment and sexual violence," said Safer Espinoza. Jon Esformes, CEO of Pacific Tomato Growers and one of the first major growers to join the effort, described the positive effect of the program in his fields.

Dorothy Edwards, Executive Director of Green Dot, etc., described the Green Dot strategy of bystander training. Melissa Emmal, Deputy Director of Abused Women's Aid in Crisis, who has led implementation of the Green Dot strategy in Anchorage, Alaska, said "we have successfully worked with bar and restaurant owners, human resources professional groups and local government offices among others. By approaching business owners as allies and offering them simple and effective strategies to make their employees and customers safer, we have greatly deepened the bench of community members actively engaged in violence prevention."

Other panelists stressed the importance of leadership from the top. Patti Perez, a shareholder at the law firm Ogletree Deakins and president of Puente Consulting, described employers with "creative programs that send a loud message to employees about the company's dedication to the prevention of inappropriate behavior at work. Companies who are truly committed to addressing these issues implement programs, not just policies," she said.
Sophia Cheng, Community Organizer at Restaurant Opportunities Center of Los Angeles, agreed with the importance of management buy-in. She explained that in restaurants, "Even when managers don't directly harass employees, it's a management responsibility to foster a safe work environment, including clear anti-harassment policies. Management sets the tone."

Heidi-Jane Olguin, CEO of Progressive Management Resources, underscored the factors that make training productive, including training all employees, not just managers, every 12-18 months; utilizing live trainers; tailoring the training to the workplace; training in multiple languages when necessary; and training employees, managers, and HR professionals separately.

"Today's meeting made clear that all parties - employers, workers, bystanders, and regulators - have a role to play in combating and eliminating workplace harassment," said Co-Chair Lipnic. "The testimony we heard today set out a number of promising practices, which we will continue to explore going forward."

Co-chairs Feldblum and Lipnic encouraged meeting attendees to send suggestions on promising practices to prevent workplace harassment via the STF's page on the EEOC website where the public may also submit comments.

The EEOC enforces the federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.

View Sexual Harassment Training Outlines and Training Options