Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

For many professions licensed under the IDFPR, individuals are not required to complete CE before their first renewal, in which case you do not have to complete sexual harassment prevention training CE during your first renewal.

However, if your profession requires CE during your first renewal, you must complete this training before renewal.

The IDFPR requirement for licensed professionals is different than the new requirement impacting all Illinois employers.

Public Act 101-0221 recently amended the Illinois Human Rights Act ("IHRA") with a requirement for all Illinois employers to provide annual sexual harassment prevention training by December 31, 2020 and annually thereafter.  To satisfy this requirement, employers may use their own sexual harassment prevention training program that meets or exceeds the minimum standards outlined in Section 2-109(B) and/or Section 2-110(C) of IHRA.  See the IDHR's Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the employer requirement.

Real Estate Institute's sexual harassment prevention training course meets the minimum requirements for both training requirements. If you represent an employer seeking a suitable training course for your employees, please contact us about our company-wide solutions.

No, the sexual harassment prevention training CE requirement can be included in the number of CE hours already required for your profession.

However, newly licensed real estate broker must complete post-license curriculum that was designed before this sexual harassment prevention training was required.  Therefore, the IDFPR Division of Real Estate is requiring you to complete an additional hour of training (available here).

Like all other CE you must receive a Certificate of Completion and retain it for your records. The Certificate must include information such as the number of hours completed, the name of the sponsor or provider, and the date the CE was completed.

You will not need to provide a Certificate if you renew on time, but you may be asked to confirm that you have completed the training. You may need to provide a Certificate if you renew late, need to restore or reinstate an expired license, or if you are included in a CE audit.

Only if your employer is an accepted or approved CE provider, and if you received a CE Certificate for the training. Please check with your employer to see if they qualify.

Sexual harassment prevention training will be required for every renewal after January 1, 2020.

Yes, to restore, reinstate or reactivate your license after January 1, 2020, you must complete the training if your profession requires CE. The sexual harassment prevention training can be included in the number of hours required to reactive your license.

No, if your profession does not require CE you are not required to complete the training.

No, you may use one course to satisfy this requirement for multiple licenses.

No, unless that course also covered the topic of sexual harassment prevention.

Every employer with one (1) or more employees working in the State of Illinois is required to provide their staff with sexual harassment prevention training that complies with Section 2-109 of the Illinois Human Rights Act ("IHRA").

In addition to the training required under Section 2-109, restaurants and bars are also required to provide supplemental sexual harassment prevention training that complies with Section 2-110 of the IHRA.

Training must be completed annually by December 31st.

Yes, all employees regardless of their status (i.e. short-term, part-time, or intern) must be trained.

No, employers are not required to train independent contractors.  However, the Illinois Department of Human Rights strongly advises that independent contractors receive training if they are working on-site at an employer's workplace or interact with the employer's staff.

Employers are encouraged to retrain their new employees, regardless of whether the employee received the required training at a prior place of employment.  Employers must independently retain their own records to show that all employees received the required sexual harassment prevention training.

Employers may ask employees to provide documentation that they completed the training elsewhere. However, employers are responsible for ensuring the training received elsewhere is compliant with the IHRA.  If the employer is unable to obtain the proper documentation, employers must have the employee retrained.  Again, the employer is responsible for demonstrating all employees completed the annual training.

Any employees who work or will work in Illinois must be trained, regardless of whether the employer is based in Illinois.  If an employee is based elsewhere but regularly interacts with other employees in Illinois, even if they are not physically present in Illinois, they should be trained.

• Example 1:  Supervisor A works for ABC company in another state (e.g., Indiana, California, Florida, etc.) and supervises employees of ABC who work in the State of Illinois.   Supervisor A should receive sexual harassment prevention training compliant with the IHRA even though Supervisor A is employed in another state.  
• Example 2:  Employee B works for ABC company in another state (e.g., Indiana, California, Florida, etc.) and will be working on a temporary basis with employees of ABC in Illinois.  Employee B should receive sexual harassment prevention training compliant with the IHRA even though Employee B's home employer is in another state.

Employers are required to keep a record of all trainings. Such records must be made available for IDHR inspection upon request.

This record may be a certificate or a signed employee acknowledgement or course sign-in worksheet.  The records may be paper or electronic.

Employers should provide training to new staff as soon as possible after hire and then annually thereafter by December 31.  Employers are encouraged to train employees as soon as possible because employers are liable for the sexual harassment conduct of new employees upon their hire. 

If an employer requires their employees to take the training outside of their regular hours – for example, on their personal phones or laptops before the start of a shift – they must be paid for their time.

Failure to provide annual sexual harassment prevention training is a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA). 

Employees can anonymously report their employer's failure to provide a training by contacting the IDHR.

Yes, every restaurant and bar, as defined under Section 2-110 of the IHRA, is required to provide employees with "supplemental" sexual harassment prevention training that complies with Section 2-110 of the IHRA.  This is in addition to the sexual harassment prevention training required of all employers under Sections 2-109. 

Section 2-110(C) minimum supplemental training standards include:

• specific conduct, activities, or videos related to the restaurant or bar industry;
• an explanation of manager liability and responsibility under the law; and
• English and Spanish language options.