Is sexual harassment or anti-discrimination training required by law?

Sexual harassment and/or anti-discrimination training, either for employees or for supervisors, is not mandated by federal law. However, it may be mandated by state law. Be sure to check State Laws for the law that applies in your state(s). 

Nevertheless, such training clearly helps to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace and minimize an employer's potential liability in the event of litigation. Training can achieve much of what the law requires that employers do to prevent and eliminate harassment, such as: 

• Document that there is a policy against workplace harassment and that the policy was communicated.
• Underscore the employer's commitment.
• Make it easy for employees to know how to make complaints.
• Provide proof to any third party that an employee (including a manager or a supervisor) was advised on a specific date, time and place about the organization's position on workplace harassment and about the various types of workplace harassment.

From a legal perspective, training about workplace harassment and other inappropriate behavior is beneficial in several ways. It can help to:

• Prevent liability for supervisor harassment. Training can assist an employer's ability to prove both that it acted reasonably by teaching supervisors and employees workplace harassment prevention and by showing that the employee acted unreasonably because he or she was educated on harassment and the organization's complaint procedure, but failed to utilize it.
• Prevent liability for coworker and non-employee harassment. Employees must learn that they have a duty to report such harassment themselves, so that the employer is given the opportunity to promptly correct the situation and, therefore, avoid liability. Additionally, supervisors must be taught to recognize and address workplace harassment so that "known" harassment does not go uncorrected.
• Prevent liability for punitive damages. Documented training efforts can demonstrate an employer's strong commitment to a non-discriminatory work environment.