How To Meet the Connecticut Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Requirements

When state law mandated that Connecticut businesses provide all relevant employees with sexual harassment prevention training by October 1, 2020, no one knew what 2020 would bring.  

On October 1, 2019, Public Act No. 19-16 and Public Act 19-93 — together, known as the Connecticut Time’s Up Act — mandated that all businesses provide two hours of CT sexual harassment prevention training. Larger businesses needed to do this for every employee, while smaller ones only needed it for supervisory employees. 

Originally, businesses had a year’s time to comply with this measure. But then we encountered a pandemic. 

COVID-19 doesn’t mean you can ignore the Connecticut harassment training requirements. It just means you have a little more time to meet them. Fortunately, with online CT sexual harassment prevention training, you can meet the requirement while keeping your employees safe and distanced. 

When do Connecticut harassment training requirements need to be met?

Thanks to a handful of executive orders, businesses now have until February 9, 2021, to meet the Connecticut harassment training requirements. 

You don’t have to wait until 2021 to get a jumpstart on your CT sexual harassment prevention training, nor should you. By starting this process now, you’ll have ample time to make sure all of your employees complete the required two hours of training each. 

Who needs CT sexual harassment prevention training?

If your business has three or more employees, you’re required to provide two hours of training for every employee.

If your business has fewer than three employees, you’re not off the hook entirely. All employees in a supervisory role still need to complete two hours of training by February next year. 

Whether your employees are working from home, on a staggered schedule, facing other work schedule changes because of the pandemic, or working normally, they can complete their training online. 

How can CT sexual harassment prevention training be completed virtually?

To meet the Connecticut harassment training requirements, you need to provide the applicable employees with two hours of training that teaches them what sexual harassment is, as well as how to identify and prevent it. 

Fortunately, this training is available online for very little money. In fact, to meet this requirement, you just need to buy the online training for each employee, which only costs $20. Then, your employee can complete their two hours from any internet-connected device — including mobile phones — whenever their schedule allows. 

You can have all of your employees set aside a couple of hours on a specific day before February next year, or you can give them the option to complete the hours at their discretion. If you choose the latter, make sure you track their completion to make sure every employee who needs to do so meets the Connecticut harassment training requirements. It might be helpful to tell your team that they need to have their two training hours completed by the end of the year.

Also, don’t forget that this isn’t a one-and-done requirement. The Time’s Up Act mandates that employers need to provide periodic supplemental training every ten years. Assumedly, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities will issue more information about this follow-up training before the requirement comes due.