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Illinois Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
The Illinois Workplace Transparency Act requires every employer to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees every year — with a specialized supplement for restaurants and bars under the EQUAL Act.
Illinois Training Requirements at a Glance...
- Statute
- Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (775 ILCS 5/2-109) + EQUAL Act for hospitality
- Effective
- January 1, 2020
- Who must train
- All employers (1+ employee). Restaurants and bars have supplemental requirements regardless of size.
- Audience
- All employees, including short-term and part-time workers
- Frequency
- Annually (by December 31 each year)
- New-hire deadline
- As soon as possible after hire
- Duration
- Typically 30–45 minutes
- Recordkeeping
- Maintain training records (employee name, date, signature/acknowledgement) for IDHR audit. Records are required to demonstrate compliance.
- Enforcement
- Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). Civil penalties range from $500 to $5,000 per violation depending on employer size.
What Illinois Training Must Cover
- Meets or exceeds IDHR model training content
- Explanation of sexual harassment under IL Human Rights Act
- Examples of conduct constituting harassment
- Summary of federal and state remedies
- Employer responsibilities to prevent, investigate, and correct
- Restaurant/bar supplement on industry-specific scenarios
Relevant WILL Training Topics
Illinois Sexual Harassment Training FAQs
Who must comply with Illinois harassment training?
Every Illinois employer must train all employees annually, regardless of company size. Restaurants and bars must use a supplement tailored to the hospitality industry.
What's the deadline for Illinois training?
December 31 of each calendar year. Employers should also train new hires as soon as possible after they start.
Are there penalties for missing the deadline?
Yes. Civil penalties from IDHR range from $500–$1,000 for a first offense at small employers up to $3,000–$5,000 for repeat offenses at larger employers.
Other State Training Mandates
Ready to put this into practice?
Download the 2026 catalog for a full course-by-course view, or talk with a compliance specialist about your state-specific requirements.
Since 1998, WILL Interactive has built immersive training that helps employers stay compliant — and helps employees actually remember what they learned.