Public Act 101-0221 amended the Illinois Human Rights Act and requires Illinois employers to provide annual sexual harassment prevention training by December 31, 2020 and annually thereafter. The new law also requires the Illinois Department of Human Rights to develop a model sexual harassment prevention training program for use by employers. Employers may develop their own sexual harassment prevention training program that equals or exceeds the minimum standards for sexual harassment prevention training.
If you are planning to create your own sexual harassment training, please be sure to familiarize yourself with the required minimum standards that must be met in such training. The minimum required standards can be viewed here: https://www2.illinois.gov/dhr/Training/Pages/Minimum-Training-Standards-for-All-Employers.aspx
Otherwise, employers are able to use the free, downloadable training that was released by the IL Department of Human Rights. The training can be downloaded as a PDF or PowerPoint presentation from the IL Department of Human Rights website. In addition, the IDHR website includes additional information such as a Frequently Asked Questions document. ICIC members are encouraged to visit this website to familiarize yourself with the requirements related to this new law. https://www2.illinois.gov/dhr/Training/Pages/State-of-Illinois-Sexual-Harassment-Prevention-Training-Model.aspx