The Chicago Commission on Human Relations has released an English-language model policy and a model sexual harassment prevention poster related to Chicago’s new requirement that employers adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and provide annual training to employees and supervisors.
The Chicago City Council amended Chicago’s Human Rights Ordinance effective June 4, 2022, to include new sexual harassment prevention obligations for employers of individuals working in Chicago.
As of July 1, 2022, employers must adopt a written policy prohibiting sexual harassment that complies with Chicago’s new requirements. The policy must be available in the employee’s primary language. The new law also requires employers to provide one hour (two hours for supervisors/managers) of sexual harassment prevention training and one hour of bystander training for all employees each year, and to display posters in locations where employees commonly gather.
Spanish, Polish, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, and Hindi versions of the model written policy should be available by July 1, 2022, according to the Commission. The Commission also indicated model training materials will be provided by July 1, 2022.
The amended Human Rights Ordinance mandates employers incorporate specific provisions, definitions, and information in their written policies. The Commission’s model policy, however, states that it is only a guide for development of each employer’s.
