A first-in-the nation municipal requirement for Chicago companies to provide separate “bystander” sexual harassment training may set a new standard for other municipalities seeking to improve their rules to combat the misconduct, according to an attorney who specializes in employment law.
The Chicago Commission on Human Rights has begun enforcing a new ordinance that every Chicago employee must receive a dedicated hour of bystander sexual harassment training annually. Employers have until June 30, 2023, to begin providing it.
In training guidance, the commission defined bystander intervention as “safe and positive actions that may be carried out by a person or a group of people to prevent harm or intervene where there is a risk or perceived risk of sexual harassment to another.”
A bystander can be anyone in the workplace who notices incidents where another person may seem uncomfortable or where the employee may determine that an observed action is inappropriate.
New York City in 2019 enacted requirements for sexual harassment prevention training for all employees, including bystander training as a component. Chicago’s ordinance is different because it is “the first jurisdiction requiring a separate component—a full hour of bystander training—for all covered employees,” Epstein Becker & Green PC attorney Nancy Popper said in an interview.
Popper said...
Delhi Police has rejected allegations that Congress leader Deepender Hooda or any other politician has been placed under house arrest, describing the reports as misleading and baseless. The police...