What sexual harassment training do California and New York require?
California requires employers with five or more employees to give California staff interactive sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training every two years: two hours for supervisors and one hour for other employees, within six months of hire or promotion. New York requires every employer, regardless of size, to adopt a compliant policy and provide interactive sexual harassment prevention training to all employees every year. These are state laws, not federal requirements.
By the Knowledge Foundry editorial team. How we write and check these pages
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 8 min
- Jurisdiction
- United States: California and New York (state law)
- Regulator
- California Civil Rights Department (CRD); New York State Department of Labor with the New York State Division of Human Rights
Key takeaways
- Both mandates are state law. Federal anti-discrimination law applies nationwide, but these specific training duties bind only employers with staff in California or New York.
- California (Government Code section 12950.1): 5 or more employees counted anywhere; 2 hours for supervisors, 1 hour for nonsupervisory employees; every two years; content must include abusive conduct and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
- New York (Labor Law section 201-g): all employers; annual interactive training meeting state minimum standards; a written policy; and notices in English and each employee's primary language.
- California requires training records to be kept for at least two years; New York City employers with 15 or more employees must keep training records for three years.
- Both states publish free model training. California's online courses satisfy its law; New York's model program sets the minimum standard employer programs must meet or exceed.
Why do states, not the federal government, set these training rules?
In the United States, employment discrimination law operates at both federal and state level, and the harassment training mandates come from the states. Federal law prohibits workplace sexual harassment across the country, but California and New York are among the states that go further by legislating specific training duties. An employer with staff in both states must meet both regimes.
For international organizations this has a practical consequence: the obligation follows where the employee works, not where the company is headquartered. A company based in Lisbon, Dubai, or Tokyo with a single remote employee in New York is an employer covered by New York's rule. This page states the position as at September 2026.
What does California require?
California requires employers with five or more employees to provide at least two hours of interactive sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors and one hour to nonsupervisory employees in California, every two years. The requirement is in Government Code section 12950.1, with detail in California Code of Regulations, Title 2, sections 11023 and 11024.
"Thereafter, each employer covered by this section shall provide sexual harassment training and education to each employee in California once every two years. New nonsupervisory employees shall be provided training within six months of hire. New supervisory employees shall be provided training within six months of the assumption of a supervisory position."
- Who counts: "employer" means any person regularly employing five or more persons or regularly receiving the services of five or more persons under contract. The CRD's employer FAQ (October 2025) says employees outside California, independent contractors, volunteers, and unpaid interns count toward the threshold, but only California-based employees must be trained.
- Content: federal and state law on preventing and correcting sexual harassment, remedies available to victims, and practical examples for supervisors on preventing harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Training must also cover prevention of abusive conduct and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
- Format: "classroom or other effective interactive training". The CRD states that text only training does not qualify. Training may be delivered individually or in groups and in shorter segments, as long as the hourly total is met.
- Short term staff: seasonal, temporary, or other employees hired for less than six months must be trained within 30 calendar days after hire or within 100 hours worked, whichever comes first. Temporary services employers, not their clients, train their placed workers.
- Trainers: trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in preventing harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
The CRD offers free online courses for supervisors and nonsupervisory employees in several languages, and section 12950.1(i) deems their use to satisfy the employer's obligation. The CRD's October 2025 FAQ gives the next training deadline as January 1, 2027.
What does New York require?
New York requires every employer to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and provide interactive sexual harassment prevention training to all employees every year. The requirement is in New York Labor Law section 201-g, which took effect in October 2018. There is no employee threshold and no minimum number of hours.
"Such sexual harassment prevention training shall be provided to all employees on an annual basis."
Employers either use the state's model training program or their own program that equals or exceeds its minimum standards. The statute requires the model program to be interactive and to include:
- An explanation of sexual harassment consistent with state guidance.
- Examples of conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment.
- Information on the federal and state statutory provisions on sexual harassment and remedies available to victims.
- Information on employees' rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating complaints.
- For supervisors, information on conduct by supervisors and any additional responsibilities they carry.
Section 201-g also requires employers to give employees, in writing, in English and in the language each employee identifies as their primary language, the policy and training information at hiring and at every annual training. The Department of Labor must review the model policy and guidance every four years, beginning in 2022. The state reports that it refreshed the model materials in 2022 after public hearings and comments. The next statutory review falls in 2026, so employers should check for revised model materials before their next training cycle.
New York City adds a separate local requirement. The New York City Commission on Human Rights states that employers with 15 or more employees, or one or more domestic workers, must provide annual training under city law, and must keep training records for three years.
How do the California and New York requirements compare?
California regulates hours and timing closely; New York regulates frequency and content but sets no hours. A single program can satisfy both if it meets the stricter element of each.
| Element | California | New York State |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Government Code section 12950.1; 2 CCR sections 11023 and 11024 | Labor Law section 201-g |
| Employer threshold | 5 or more employees or contracted service providers, counted anywhere | All employers |
| Frequency | Every two years | Every year |
| Minimum length | 2 hours supervisors, 1 hour nonsupervisory | No minimum set |
| New hires | Within six months of hire or of becoming a supervisor; short term staff within 30 days or 100 hours | Annual cycle; policy and training information given in writing at hiring |
| Format | Classroom or other effective interactive training | Interactive |
| Extra content | Abusive conduct; gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation | Rights of redress and all forums for complaints; supervisor responsibilities |
| Records | At least two years (CRD guidance) | No state retention period in 201-g; three years for NYC employers with 15 or more employees |
| State model training | Free CRD online courses deemed compliant | Model program sets the minimum standard |
How can employers map the requirements to learning outcomes and evidence?
Map each statutory element to a learning outcome and to the evidence a regulator or court would expect. The table below is illustrative and would need tailoring to each employer's policy and workforce.
| Requirement | Example learning outcome | Assessment evidence |
|---|---|---|
| CA and NY: explanation and examples of harassment | Distinguishes unlawful harassment from acceptable workplace conduct in realiztic scenarios. | Interactive scenario questions with recorded responses. |
| CA and NY: statutory provisions and remedies | Identifies internal and external channels for complaints, including state agencies. | Knowledge check result stored with the training version. |
| CA: abusive conduct | Recognizes conduct that meets the statutory definition of abusive conduct. | Scenario based quiz item mapped to section 12950.1(h)(2). |
| CA: supervisor practical examples; NY: supervisor responsibilities | Supervisor describes how to respond to and escalate a report. | Supervisor module completion with a role play or case response. |
| NY: written notice in primary language | Employee receives the policy and training information in their language. | Signed or electronic policy attestation with language recorded. |
| CA: two year records | Employer can prove each California employee completed training on time. | Names, dates, type of training, certificates, training materials, and provider name kept for two years. |
For deciding refresh intervals across multiple jurisdictions, see how to set mandatory training refresh cycles. For keeping these records ready, see how to prepare training records for an audit.
What happens if an employer does not comply?
In California, the CRD may seek an order requiring the employer to comply, under section 12950.1(d). The statute also says that a failure of training to reach a particular person does not by itself create liability in a harassment claim, and that complying with the training requirement does not shield the employer from liability for harassment.
Section 12950.1(e) describes the training as "a minimum threshold" and says it should not discourage employers from providing longer, more frequent, or more elaborate training to meet their obligation to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment. In both states, well documented training is primarily evidence of prevention efforts rather than a defense on its own. Comparable prevention duties in other markets are covered in the Australian positive duty and Japan's power harassment rules.
How does Knowledge Foundry approach this?
Knowledge Foundry models each jurisdiction's required elements as linked obligations, maps them to shared learning outcomes and assessment points, and records which jurisdiction each outcome satisfies. When a state updates its model materials, the affected outcomes and roles are identified from those links. See compliance programs.
Frequently asked questions
Does federal law require sexual harassment training?
Federal anti-discrimination law prohibits workplace sexual harassment, but the specific mandates on this page come from state law. Employers outside California and New York should check the rules of each state where they have employees, since several other states and cities have their own requirements.
Do remote employees working from California or New York need training?
Yes. California's requirement applies to employees in California, and New York's to employees in New York, based on where they work. The California CRD also counts employees outside the state toward the five employee threshold, even though only California-based employees must be trained.
Can one annual course satisfy both states?
Often yes, if it meets the stricter element of each: New York's annual frequency and content list, and California's hour minimums, abusive conduct and gender identity content, and interactivity rules. Supervisors in California still need two hours in each two year period, and California employees must be trained within six months of hire.
Does an employee trained by a previous employer need retraining in California?
Not necessarily. The CRD FAQ says an employee who received compliant training within the prior two years from a prior employer must read and acknowledge the new employer's policy within six months, and is then tracked on a two year schedule from that training. The new employer must confirm the prior training was compliant.
Sources
- California Government Code section 12950.1, California Legislative Information
- Sexual Harassment Prevention Training: Information for Employers (October 2025), California Civil Rights Department
- Sexual Harassment Prevention Training, California Civil Rights Department
- New York Labor Law section 201-g: Prevention of sexual harassment, New York State Senate
- Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, State of New York
- Sexual Harassment Training, New York City Commission on Human Rights
This page is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Check the primary sources above and obtain advice for your circumstances. See our editorial standards.