Sexual Harassment & Bystander Training for Chicago Employers
empathiHR provides sexual harassment prevention and bystander training for Chicago employers through our annual program. We help organize employee and supervisor assignments and completion records, backed by management guidance and support when concerns require action.
Account for all three training components
Chicago employees need harassment prevention and bystander training, and supervisors have additional harassment-training time. We review roles and work locations so the plan addresses those components alongside Illinois requirements.
Hosted training for your team
Training is delivered through our hosted platform. Employee and manager content addresses their different responsibilities, with assignments informed by workforce locations and roles.
Completion records and follow-through
We coordinate rollout and completion tracking against your roster. Individual completion records help HR see participation and keep evidence of the training delivered. That gives your team a coordinated process instead of another training project to manage on its own.
An annual program, with support beyond training
Training is included only in the annual empathiHR program. The relationship also brings management guidance, phone/email and in-app reporting, thorough investigations, and proactive quarterly engagement. Owners, managers, and HR have an experienced resource for employee concerns, with more capacity to focus on running the business.
Start with your workforce and current training
Tell us your locations, employee and manager counts, and recent training dates. We review applicable requirements and explain the annual program, delivery, records, and pricing before you decide. Once you join, onboarding establishes the relationship and we coordinate rollout and ongoing support.
Coverage scope
All employees engaged to work within the geographical boundaries of Chicago, including those working remotely from a Chicago location, and their out-of-city supervisors. The ordinance sets no minimum hours and no employer size threshold.
Duration & frequency
- Duration
- Employees: 1 hour of sexual harassment training plus 1 hour of bystander intervention training. Supervisors: 2 hours of sexual harassment training plus 1 hour of bystander intervention training.
- Frequency
- Annually, on a training year running July 1 to June 30. Note this does NOT align with the Illinois calendar-year cycle, so a Chicago employer subject to both is tracking two different deadlines.
- New hires
- The ordinance sets no new-hire deadline for the training itself; complete it within the current July 1 to June 30 cycle. The written policy is different and must be delivered in the employee's primary language within the first calendar week of employment.
Every compliant program must include
Use these topics to review your program against the Chicago requirements, alongside the agency sources and coverage details below.
Definition of sexual harassment under federal, Illinois, and Chicago law
Examples of conduct constituting unlawful sexual harassment
Summary of state and federal remedies
Description of the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and reporting to the Chicago Commission on Human Relations
Bystander intervention training content for the additional one-hour module
Supervisor-specific responsibilities for preventing and correcting harassment
Recordkeeping
Records must be retained for at least five (5) years (or for the duration of any pending claim, whichever is longer) and produced upon request by the City.
Penalties & enforcement
The ordinance provides fines for failure to meet policy, posting, or training duties. Keep records for five years or the duration of a pending claim, civil action, or investigation, whichever is longer.
Chicago Commission on Human Relations and the Chicago Office of Labor Standards.
Keep training connected across your locations.
Chicago is one of 11 jurisdictions in this reference. We help your team organize training and records around its workforce, with management guidance and investigation support when concerns arise.
Chicago training: buyer questions
What should we discuss before choosing a Chicago training provider?
Does Chicago require an extra hour of bystander training?
Can I buy only the Chicago bystander course from empathiHR?
This page summarizes publicly available statutes and regulatory guidance, last reviewed October 2026. State and local mandates change frequently; verify current requirements with the enforcing agency or employment counsel before relying on this content for compliance decisions. empathiHR clients receive a written compliance matrix updated against their roster and locations.
Discuss training for your Chicago team.
Training is included in our annual program. Tell us about your workforce, locations, and current training so we can explain the program and discuss the fit for your team.