Recognizing employers have challenges in ensuring employees complete Connecticut’s new mandatory sexual harassment training requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has authorized employers to apply for a 90-day extension to complete training for employees who have been hired after October 1, 2019.

Employers may request an extension by emailing the CHRO at CHRO.questions@ct.gov and explaining how COVID-19 has affected the employer’s ability to meet the training requirement. Examples of grounds for seeking the extension include “lack of access to technology including computer/the internet, illness of the employee or other unforeseeable circumstances.” If the extension is granted, the employer will be required to train employees hired after October 1, 2019, within nine months (instead of six months) of the date of hire.

The CHRO’s guidance does not contemplate modification of the existing deadline for training all employees hired before October 1, 2019. Training for those employees must be completed on or by October 1, 2020.