It’s June 2023—Have You Provided Your Chicago Mandatory Annual Harassment Prevention and Bystander Intervention Training?

As we reported last May, the City of Chicago amended its Human Rights Ordinance, on July 1, 2022, to require all employers with employees in Chicago to provide annual training as follows:

• One hour of sexual harassment prevention training to all employees;
• One additional hour of bystander intervention training to all employees; and
• An additional hour of sexual harassment prevention training (for a total of two hours) to all supervisors and managers.

Chicago requires that all employees receive the first annual set of required trainings by June 30, 2023. Employers that do not meet this requirement may be fined for each day they are out of compliance. Complying with the City of Chicago’s requirements also ensures compliance with the training requirements required by the State of Illinois.

Quick Hits

• Employers with employees in Chicago are required to provide annual training both on sexual harassment prevention and on bystander intervention.
• All employees must receive the first set of required trainings by June 30, 2023.
• Employers that do not meet the training requirement may be fined for each day of noncompliance.
• Illinois employers that had adverse judgments or administrative rulings against them in the preceding calendar year must disclose those judgments or rulings to the Illinois Department of Human Rights by July 1, 2023.

The City of Chicago’s website features free model sexual harassment prevention and bystander intervention training materials and the State of Illinois also provides free training materials.

Illinois Adverse Ruling Reports Are Due July 1, 2023

Illinois requires each employer that had an adverse judgment or administrative ruling against it in the preceding calendar year to disclose such judgments or rulings to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) annually by July 1. Employers are required to inform the IDHR of: the total number of adverse judgments or administrative rulings during the preceding year; whether any equitable relief was ordered; and the number of adverse judgments or administrative rulings entered against the employer within specific categories outlined in the Illinois Human Rights Act. Details on the reporting requirement are available on the IDHR’s website.

The Chicago office of Ogletree Deakins will continue to publish updates on the Illinois blog as additional information becomes available.

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