California harassment training requirements

Last reviewed September 29, 2026 against the official sources listed below. A plain-language summary, not legal advice: confirm how the law applies to you with your legal adviser.

At a glance

Who it applies to: Employers with 5 or more employees or contractors, counted anywhere, not just in California, and public employers of any size^{1, 2}.
Hours: At least 2 hours for supervisors and 1 hour for everyone else in California. It can be split into shorter parts¹.
New hires: Within six months of hire or of becoming a supervisor. Workers hired for under six months: within 30 days or 100 hours worked, whichever comes first¹.
How often: Every two years, counted for each person or by a set training year^{1, 2}.
Content: The law, remedies and practical examples, abusive conduct, and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Anti-hate speech is added from 2028^{1, 5}.
Format: Classroom, e-learning or webinar, taught by a qualified trainer, and it must be interactive. Video on its own isn't enough².
Records: At least two years under the training regulation. California's general rule for employment records is four years^{2, 8}.
Free course: The Civil Rights Department's 1-hour and 2-hour courses, in six languages, with a certificate^{1, 4}.

Who must train, and who must be trained

Employers that regularly employ, or regularly receive services from, five or more people, contractors included, must train¹. The five don't need to work at the same location or in California, part-time and temporary workers count, and public employers must train whatever their size².

Everyone employed in California must be trained, including minors aged 14 to 17^{1, 2}.
Employees located outside California don't have to be trained³.
Contractors, volunteers and unpaid interns count toward the five but don't have to be trained, though the Civil Rights Department suggests training them as a best practice^{2, 3}.

Supervisors get the two-hour training. A supervisor is anyone with authority, using independent judgment, to hire, promote, discipline, assign or direct other employees, or to effectively recommend those actions⁷.

When: new hires, new supervisors and every two years

New employees: within six months of hire¹.
New supervisors, whether hired or promoted: within six months of becoming a supervisor^{1, 2}.
Workers hired for less than six months: within 30 calendar days of hire or 100 hours worked, whichever comes first. A temp agency trains its own workers, not its client¹. Workers hired for less than 30 days and less than 100 hours don't need training².
Everyone: again every two years¹.

Employers can count the two years for each person from their last completed training, or train groups by a "training year" with retraining by the end of the next training year, two years later, or use a mix of the two². The Civil Rights Department names January 1, 2027 as the next training deadline³.

Someone who already had compliant training in the last two years, for example at a previous employer, doesn't need it again right away, but must be given your anti-harassment policy to read and acknowledge within six months of starting¹. You're responsible for making sure the earlier training met the law³.

The training can be split into shorter segments as long as the total hours are met¹, but classroom and webinar segments must be at least half an hour².

What the training must cover

The law requires¹:

the federal and state laws on preventing and correcting sexual harassment, and the remedies available to victims;
practical examples to teach supervisors how to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation;
prevention of abusive conduct: conduct with malice that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive and unrelated to the employer's legitimate business interests;
practical examples of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.

The regulation adds more topics: the types of conduct that count as harassment, potential liability for the employer and individuals, prevention strategies, supervisors' duty to report harassment they learn of, the limited confidentiality of complaints, resources for victims, how harassment is corrected and investigated, what to do if a supervisor is accused, and how to use the employer's policy².

New from January 1, 2028: a law signed on September 27, 2026 adds anti-hate speech training, meaning practical guidance on recognizing, reporting and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates or incites hatred against people based on protected characteristics. Training that already covers harassment and abusive conduct based on those characteristics meets it^{5, 6}.

Bystander intervention training is optional; the Civil Rights Department says it isn't required by law at this time³.

Format, trainers and the free state course

Training can be given in a classroom, as e-learning or as a webinar, or through the Civil Rights Department's own online courses². Whatever the format, it must be interactive, with questions that check learning, skill-building activities and many hypothetical scenarios about harassment. Audio and video can support the training but can't meet the requirements on their own².

E-learning: a supervisor's course must take at least two hours to complete, and others at least one. A trainer must answer questions within two business days², and e-learning can't be watched as a group³.
Webinars: the employer must document that each employee who wasn't in the room attended the whole training and actively took part².
Trainers: an attorney with at least two years in practice that includes employment law, a human resources professional or consultant with at least two years of practical experience, or a qualified professor or instructor². The department doesn't approve training providers, and there's no certification for trainers³.

The department's free courses, one hour and two hours long, come in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Tagalog, and end with a certificate of completion^{1, 4}. They can't be copied or loaded into another system, such as an employer's e-learning platform⁴.

Records to keep

The training regulation says to keep documentation for at least two years: the names of the employees trained, the date, the sign-in sheet, copies of any certificates, the type of training, a copy of all the written or recorded materials, and the name of the training provider². Keep it yourself; don't send it to the department³.

California's general rule for employment records is four years⁸, and no official source says whether that longer period covers training records. Confirm with your adviser how long to keep them.

Your policy, the poster and the fact sheet

Give each employee a copy of your anti-harassment policy, and have them read it and acknowledge receiving it². The policy must include a link to, or the address of, the department's online courses².
Post the department's poster on discrimination, which covers sexual harassment, and its poster on transgender rights⁹.
Give employees the department's information sheet on sexual harassment, or equivalent information⁹.

Enforcement

If an employer doesn't comply, the Civil Rights Department can ask for an order requiring it to¹. One employee missing training doesn't by itself make an employer liable for harassment, and training everyone doesn't protect it from liability either¹.

How MyWorkAcademy helps

MyWorkAcademy runs the part of compliance that usually slips: getting everyone trained on time, again when it's due, and being able to prove it.

Assign the training to everyone who must take it, with each new hire's deadline counted from their start date (six months in California).
Give supervisors their own course through a supervisors group, with a rule that renews after each completion. Anyone you add to the group later, such as someone just promoted, is assigned it automatically.
Repeat it every two years, counted from each person's last completion, with reminders before each deadline and follow-ups after it, so nobody has to chase anyone.
Keep a locked record of every completion: the person, the exact course version, the date, the score and the acknowledgment. Each certificate carries a link anyone can use to check it.
Keep records for as long as you need them: completions are permanent in your academy, and you can download them at any time, including after a paid plan ends.

MyWorkAcademy doesn't decide whether a course meets a law's content or length rules. Use your own training, turn your policy into a course, or start from our library, and have your legal adviser confirm the content meets the law.

Questions employers ask

Which California employers must provide harassment training?

Employers that regularly employ, or regularly receive services from, five or more people, contractors included and wherever they work, and all public employers^{1, 2}.

How long does California harassment training have to be?

At least two hours for supervisors and one hour for other employees, every two years. It can be split into shorter segments as long as the total is met¹.

Can we put the state's free course into our own training platform?

No. The Civil Rights Department says its courses may not be copied or loaded into a third-party system such as an employer's e-learning platform⁴. Employees can take it on the department's site, or you can use other training that meets the rules^{3, 4}.

Do we have to train employees who work outside California?

No. Employees located outside California don't have to be trained³, though they count toward the five-employee threshold².

Does a new hire who was trained at a previous job need training again?

Not if the training met California law and was in the last two years. They must still read and acknowledge your policy within six months, and it's up to you to make sure the earlier training was compliant^{1, 3}.

Does the state approve training providers?

No. The Civil Rights Department doesn't approve providers and there's no trainer certification, but trainers must meet the regulation's qualifications^{2, 3}.

What changes in 2028?

From January 1, 2028, the training must include anti-hate speech training. Training that covers harassment and abusive conduct based on protected characteristics meets the new requirement⁵.

Sources

Government Code § 12950.1, sexual harassment trainingCalifornia Legislature
2 CCR §§ 11023–11024, harassment prevention policy and training regulations (adopted text)California Civil Rights Council
Sexual harassment prevention training: FAQ for employersCalifornia Civil Rights Department
Sexual harassment prevention training (free online courses)California Civil Rights Department
AB 1803 (2026), bill text: anti-hate speech trainingCalifornia Legislature
AB 1803 (2026), history: approved September 27, 2026, Chapter 547California Legislature
Government Code § 12926, definitions (supervisor)California Legislature
Government Code § 12946, keeping employment recordsCalifornia Legislature
Government Code § 12950, posters and information sheetCalifornia Legislature

California sexual harassment prevention training: what employers must do