Illinois 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: Every employer with employees working in Illinois. The state's human rights department says employers with 1 or more employees must train^{1, 3}.
Who is trained: Everyone who works in Illinois, including short-term, part-time and interns, wherever the employer is based. Contractors aren't required, but training them is strongly advised³.
How often: At least once a year: by December 31 of each calendar year^{1, 3}.
New hires: No deadline in the law. The state asks for training as soon as possible after hire³.
Content: Four minimum topics: what sexual harassment is, examples, the federal and state laws and remedies, and the employer's responsibilities¹.
Length and format: No minimum length or required format. Your own program must equal or exceed the minimum standards¹, and self-guided online training is allowed⁴.
Records: Keep a record of all training and show it if the state asks. You don't file it anywhere^{3, 5}.
Restaurants and bars: A written policy in each employee's first calendar week, in English and Spanish, plus supplemental training every year⁶.
Penalties: Only after a notice and 30 days to comply: from up to $500 for a first offense to up to $5,000 for a third or later, depending on the employer's size^{1, 7}.

Who must be trained

The law covers every employer with employees working in Illinois, except employers covered by the training rule in the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, which has its own¹. The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) says employers with 1 or more employees must provide the training³. It covers:

All employees, whatever their status: short-term, part-time and interns included³.
Anyone who works or will work in Illinois, whether the employer is based in Illinois or elsewhere³.
Not independent contractors: they don't have to be trained, though IDHR strongly advises training all workers, contractors included³.

The law defines an employee as anyone performing services for pay in Illinois for an employer².

How often, and new hires

Training must be provided at least once a year to all employees¹. IDHR reads that as every calendar year: by December 31 of each year, all employees must have been trained³.

The law sets no deadline for new hires. IDHR asks employers to train new staff as soon as possible after hire or by December 31, 2026, and encourages retraining new employees even if they were trained elsewhere³.

What the training must cover

The law sets four minimum topics¹:

an explanation of sexual harassment consistent with the Illinois Human Rights Act;
examples of conduct that is unlawful sexual harassment;
a summary of the federal and state laws on sexual harassment, including the remedies available to victims;
a summary of employers' responsibilities in preventing and investigating sexual harassment and taking corrective action.

Since January 1, 2025, people have 2 years, not 300 days, to file a charge with IDHR^{8, 9}. Training made before then may still show the old deadline; IDHR's 2025 model training shows the new one¹⁰.

Your own training, online training and the free state model

Employers can use IDHR's model training or their own program, as long as their own equals or exceeds the four minimum topics¹. IDHR doesn't certify training from other providers, and asks employers to review any outside training to make sure it meets those standards³.

The law sets no minimum length and no required format. IDHR lets employers send staff to its model for self-guided training that the employer documents⁴, and says training must be accessible to all staff³.

IDHR's model is free: slides, handouts and videos, some in English and Spanish, in a general version and a supplement for restaurants and bars^{1, 4, 5}.

Records to keep

Employers must keep a record of all training and make it available if IDHR asks³. IDHR says the record should include⁵:

the names of the employees trained and the date of training;
any sign-in sheets;
a copy of all written or recorded materials that make up the training;
the name of the training provider, if you used one.

Records can be paper or electronic, and a signed acknowledgment or an email from the employee confirming they finished can serve as the record. You don't send proof of training to IDHR unless it asks⁵. Neither the law nor IDHR's guidance sets how long to keep records.

Restaurants and bars

Restaurants and bars have two extra duties⁶:

Give every employee a written sexual harassment policy within their first calendar week of work, available in English and Spanish. The law lists what it must include, from how to report harassment inside the business and to IDHR and the EEOC, to a ban on retaliation⁶.
Provide supplemental training every year to all employees, whatever their job classification. It must cover conduct specific to restaurants and bars, managers' liability and responsibility under the law, and English and Spanish options, and it can be given together with the general training⁶.

A bar is an establishment that serves alcohol and makes no more than 10% of its gross revenue from food eaten on the premises. A restaurant is a business mainly selling ready-to-eat food for immediate consumption⁶.

Penalties

If an employer doesn't train, IDHR first issues a notice giving it 30 days to comply. Only if it still doesn't comply can IDHR ask the Human Rights Commission for a civil penalty^{1, 7}:

Fewer than 4 employees: up to $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second and $3,000 for a third or later⁷.
4 or more employees: up to $1,000 for a first offense, $3,000 for a second and $5,000 for a third or later⁷.

The penalty takes into account the employer's size, its good-faith efforts to comply and how serious the violation is⁷.

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 (IDHR asks for as soon as possible after hire).
Repeat it every year, due by a date you choose, such as December 31, with reminders before each deadline and follow-ups after it, so nobody has to chase anyone.
Restaurants and bars can assign the supplemental training alongside it, and give each new employee the written policy as a short course due in their first week.
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

Do small employers in Illinois have to provide harassment training?

Yes. The law covers every employer with employees working in Illinois, and IDHR says employers with 1 or more employees must train them^{1, 3}.

Is there a deadline for training new hires in Illinois?

Not in the law. IDHR asks employers to train new staff as soon as possible after hire or by December 31, 2026, and encourages retraining new employees even if they were trained elsewhere³.

Can Illinois harassment training be done online?

Yes. The law sets no format or minimum length, and IDHR lets employers use its model for self-guided training that the employer documents^{1, 4}. Your own program must equal or exceed the four minimum topics¹.

Does IDHR approve training providers?

No. IDHR doesn't certify training from third parties, and asks employers to review outside training to make sure it meets the minimum standards³.

Do employees with two jobs have to be trained twice?

No. IDHR says employees don't need to take the training at each workplace where they work over the course of a year³.

Do we send proof of training to the state?

No, unless IDHR asks for it. Keep a record of all training, paper or electronic, and make it available if it does^{3, 5}.

Do we have to pay employees for training time?

IDHR says that if training happens outside normal working hours, employers should check their obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Illinois wage and hour laws³.

Sources

775 ILCS 5/2-109, Sexual harassment prevention trainingIllinois General Assembly
775 ILCS 5/2-101, DefinitionsIllinois General Assembly
Training FAQsIllinois Department of Human Rights
State of Illinois sexual harassment prevention training modelIllinois Department of Human Rights
Sexual harassment prevention training content: slides, handouts and videosIllinois Department of Human Rights
775 ILCS 5/2-110, Restaurants and bars; sexual harassment preventionIllinois General Assembly
775 ILCS 5/8-109.1, Civil penalties; failure to report; failure to trainIllinois General Assembly
Public Act 103-0973: 2 years to file a charge (effective January 1, 2025)Illinois General Assembly
775 ILCS 5/7A-102, ProceduresIllinois General Assembly
Sexual harassment prevention training for employers, 2025 model (PDF)Illinois Department of Human Rights

Illinois sexual harassment prevention training: what employers must do