Workplace Harassment Prevention Foundations

Chicago is not just an Illinois recap. The local code layers a 1-hour annual bystander-training requirement onto annual sexual harassment prevention training, and it creates a higher harassment-prevention hour requirement for managers and supervisors.

The written policy is part of the course workflow. It must state that sexual harassment is illegal in Chicago, include the local definition, describe prohibited conduct, explain reporting routes including confidential-report options when appropriate, name legal resources, and state that retaliation is illegal.

Employees should receive the written policy in their primary language within the first calendar week of employment. That onboarding timing is different from a generic annual reminder and must be built into the employer rollout.

The bystander block teaches five response families: direct, distract, delegate, delay, and document. Learners practice selecting the safest option based on immediate risk, power dynamics, and whether the target person wants support.

Scenarios include customer harassment, coworker group messages, supervisor comments, alcohol-service settings, late-night shifts, and employee reports after the fact. The course avoids telling learners to be heroes; it trains them to reduce harm, preserve facts, and use the policy.

Documentation is taught as factual and limited: date, time, location, people involved, exact words or conduct when remembered, witnesses, and what was reported. The course warns against online posting, gossip, or sharing details outside the response process.

Chicago policy content must include how to report allegations, including confidential-report instructions where appropriate, internal complaint form routes, and legal services or governmental resources available to employees.

The poster duty is visible and bilingual. Employers display at least one Commission poster in English and one in Spanish in a location where employees commonly gather.

The record file must keep the written policy document, trainings given to each employee, and records needed to demonstrate compliance for at least 5 years, or longer during a claim, civil action, or investigation.

The local code recognizes employer responsibility when nonemployees or nonsupervisory employees harass and the employer becomes aware but fails to take reasonable corrective measures. This makes customer and vendor scenarios part of the training, not edge cases.

Managers practice immediate steps: stop the conduct when safe, separate the affected worker from the source of harm if needed, avoid blaming the worker for tips or customer reactions, preserve records, and escalate through the policy.

Retaliation is taught as illegal in Chicago. Learners compare legitimate follow-up with retaliation risks such as reduced hours, poor assignments, threats, or isolation after reporting or witnessing sexual harassment.