Sexual Harassment Training Requirements by State for Employers

Does your business have to train its staff on sexual harassment? In six states it may have to: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine and New York. New York and Illinois cover every employer, every year. The other four depend on how many people you employ. Each has its own schedule.

Written and checked on 12 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check the cited statute or opinion before relying on it.

Short answer: a statute is a law passed by a legislature. Six state statutes, read on 12 October 2026, set a training duty for private employers. The size line runs from every employer up to 50 employees. We did not read other states. A state missing here may still have a rule.

Official text, as of 12 October 2026

New York Labor Law section 201-g(2)(c). The state Senate site reads: "Such sexual harassment prevention training shall be provided to all employees on an annual basis." You can read the section here.

What changed in 2025 and 2026: two bills touch these sections, and neither changes a rule you must follow today.

• California. The governor's 9.27.2026 legislative update lists AB 1803 among the bills signed. The bill amends Government Code 12950.1. In the version the Assembly accepted, it adds from 1 January 2028 an anti-hate speech component to the required training. It leaves the hours and the two-year cycle as they are. We did not read the chaptered text, so check the bill page.
• New York. Assembly bill A368A would add a new subdivision 3 to section 201-g. Employers would have to get a signed and dated acknowledgement each time they give the written notice, and keep it six years. The bill passed both houses on 19 May 2026. The Assembly page showed no later action when we read it. If it becomes law, it takes effect on the ninetieth day after.

For the other four states we found no enacted change in 2025 or 2026. The Senate site dates the current New York text 16 August 2019. Illinois (P.A. 101-221) and California (AB 3369) show 2020 changes. Connecticut's training subdivision was last edited by Public Act 21-109 (a prior-training rule) and Public Act 22-37 (technical fixes); the section's newest act, Public Act 22-82, changed other subdivisions. Connecticut's 2026 supplement does not list section 46a-54 among the sections changed in the 2025 sessions.

TL;DR

• Four things differ by state: who is covered, who must train, how often, and what the course must cover.
• New York and Illinois: every employer, every year, as of 12 October 2026.
• California: five or more workers. Two hours for supervisors, one hour for everyone else, every two years.
• Connecticut, Delaware and Maine: size lines of three, 50 and 15 workers, each with its own timing.
• Coming changes: California adds an anti-hate speech component from 1 January 2028. New York has a bill, passed in May 2026, that would add a signed acknowledgement.
• Scope: six states, read from the statute. Local and industry rules are not covered.

Do you have to train? Three questions

Start with three facts about your business.

1. Where are your workers based? California covers employees "in California". Illinois covers employers "with employees working in this State". We read no wording that reaches further.
2. How many people do you employ? California starts at five. Its definition also counts people who regularly work for you under a contract. Delaware starts at 50 workers in the state. It does not count applicants or contractors.
3. Who must be trained? In New York and Illinois, all staff. In California, everyone, and supervisors get more hours. Each state defines "supervisor" its own way. Check yours before you sort staff. Delaware, for one, counts anyone who "directs an employee's daily work activities."

The six states side by side

Each row below was read from the statute text on 12 October 2026.

Need help with a state's code? See our guides for New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware and Maine.

New York in detail

New York is the state most people search for. Its text is short. Subdivision 2(c) tells every employer to use the state's model program or run one that "equals or exceeds the minimum standards" of the model. Training goes to "all employees on an annual basis". The model is one way to comply.

Subdivision 2-a adds a paper step. As of 12 October 2026, the employer must give each employee a written notice of its harassment policy and the training content. That happens "at the time of hiring and at every annual" training. The notice is in English and in the employee's primary language, with an English notice when the state has no template in that language.

The state Labor Department's page, read the same day, says New York City has an online program for city employers that meets state rules. We did not read city law.

Counting and timing details that trip people up

As of 12 October 2026, here is what each text adds.

• California gives seasonal and temporary staff hired for under six months a shorter clock: 30 calendar days from hire or 100 hours worked, whichever comes first. A temp agency, not its client, gives that training.
• Delaware does not require training for staff employed under six months continuously. It also tells employers with four or more employees to give new hires a state fact sheet.
• Connecticut requires employers with three or more employees to post a notice. They must also email it to each new hire within three months if the employer gave the hire an email account or the hire gave an email address. Connecticut writes these duties as a power of its human rights commission, which may "require an employer having three or more employees" to act. Section 46a-97 fines an employer up to $750 for failing to provide the training that subdivision 15 requires. An employer with fewer than three employees must still train supervisors.
• Maine requires every employer to give all staff a written notice each year, whatever its size. The training duty starts at 15 employees.

What goes wrong

• Assuming one rule everywhere. A 40-person company in Illinois must train. The same company in Delaware falls under the 50-employee line.
• Training without the notice. New York, Maine and Connecticut each add a written or posted notice. Doing only the course leaves a gap.
• Skipping supervisors. California, Delaware and Maine set longer or extra training for them.
• Treating training as a shield. California's section says compliance "does not insulate the employer from liability for sexual harassment". Training is a duty. It does not end your risk.
• Copying an agency course. California's Civil Rights Department says its trainings may not be loaded "into a third-party system such as employers' e-learning platforms". Read its training page first.
• Ignoring penalties. Maine's text sets fines of $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 for first, second and later notice or training violations. Connecticut's fine is up to $750 under section 46a-97. Illinois gives 30 days to comply after a show-cause notice. California's department may seek an order to comply.

What this page does not cover

We read six state statutes and no others. Washington passed a 2025 law on employers of isolated workers. We did not read its text, so we say nothing about its duties. We also skipped local rules, industry rules and federal agency guidance. For how state and federal law fit together, see federal vs state law. For a method to check many states at once, see how to run a 50-state survey, and for agency rules, state regulations. The wider map of sources is in the US law data guide.

How we keep this current

Training laws change on different dates, so we re-read all six every quarter (January, April, July, October) and after any news of an amending bill. The last full read was 12 October 2026.

FAQ

Which states require sexual harassment training?

As of 12 October 2026, we read six: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine and New York. We did not read other states. Some have narrower rules.

Does New York require training every year?

Yes. Section 201-g(2)(c) says the training "shall be provided to all employees on an annual basis". It covers every employer. There is no headcount line.

How many employees before California requires it?

Five or more. Government Code 12950.1(a) says "an employer having five or more employees". Subdivision (h) also counts people who regularly work for you under a contract.

Do part-time or seasonal staff need training?

It depends on the state. New York and Illinois say "all employees". California gives seasonal and temporary hires a 30-day or 100-hour clock. Delaware skips staff employed under six months.

Is the state's free training enough?

New York and Illinois let you use the state model or your own program that meets its minimum standards. California lets you send staff to the state's online courses. Check your section for content rules. Note the licence limit above.

How often must supervisors train?

California: two hours, every two years. Delaware: within one year of becoming a supervisor, then every two years. Maine: within one year of starting. Connecticut: two hours for all staff, but an employer with fewer than three employees trains supervisors only. New York and Illinois set one annual training for all staff, with no separate supervisor schedule.

Is this legal advice?

No. It reports what six statutes said on 12 October 2026. Read the linked section for your state. Ask a lawyer about your facts.

For the US statutes, regulations and court rules these laws sit in, see the US primary law API.

Priyansh Khodiyar

Co-Founder & CTO

Priyansh leads engineering and AI at Vaquill AI: the pipelines that pull statutes, regulations and court rules from every US jurisdiction's official publisher, and the REST API, MCP server and open dataset that serve them.