Important news: Connecticut’s Time’s Up Act Effective October 1. If you own a business in Connecticut, you better be prepared for the “Time’s Up” Act. This act was passed a few months ago. However, the training component of the act doesn’t go into effect until October 1, 2019.
Prior to this new act, only companies who had more than fifty (50) employees had to provide sexual harassment training. And, they only had to provide it to people in supervisory positions. The training only had to be two (2) hours long and there was no requirement for periodic or supplemental training.
Under the new law, essentially all employers are going to have to train their employees on sexual harassment. Effective October 1, 2019, all companies with three (3) or more employees have to provide sexual harassment training.
The new law requires all employees – not just supervisors – to receive sexual harassment training. Companies have one year, until October 1, 2010, to train existing and current employees. Anyone hired after October 1, 2019 must be trained within six (6) months.
The new law also requires that this training be done periodically. Companies can no longer get away with a two (2) hour training session when the employee is hired. They’re going to have to provide training often and ongoing.
With the increase in sexual harassment claims, this can be a good thing and a bad thing for companies. It will be time consuming and expensive for businesses to provide this training. However, if a company is sued for sexual harassment, they’ll at least have proof that they trained their staff.
If you have any questions about how to handle this training, you should contact our experienced attorneys in Connecticut. They can answer any questions you may have and help make sure your training program meets the requirements of this new act.