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Home›Courses›Safety Training›Workplace Harassment: Awareness and Prevention

Workplace Harassment: Awareness and Prevention

24 minutesEN / ES / MLCCSafety TrainingTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act, EEOC Enforcement Guidance, OSHA General Duty Clause
Quick Answer

Workplace Harassment: Awareness and Prevention is a 24-minute online course that covers the legal definitions, forms, and prevention of workplace harassment as governed by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, EEOC guidance, and OSHA's General Duty Clause. It is designed for employees and managers across all industries and includes a downloadable certificate of completion.

Course Overview

Workplace harassment remains one of the most persistent and costly problems facing employers. The EEOC received 88,531 new discrimination charges in FY 2024, a 9.2% increase over the prior year, and recovered nearly $700 million in monetary relief for victims. Harassment claims that result in litigation carry a median jury award of approximately $200,000, and the average settlement reaches $50,000 before accounting for legal fees, investigation costs, and the productivity losses that accompany any complaint. For mid-size employers, even a single harassment claim can have a material impact on operations and finances.

This course provides your workforce with a thorough understanding of what constitutes harassment under federal law, how to recognize prohibited conduct in its various forms, and the steps employees should take when they experience or witness harassment. Your employees will learn the difference between quid pro quo and hostile work environment harassment, understand the protections against retaliation, and know both internal and external reporting options available to them.

What You'll Learn

  • Legal definition of workplace harassment under Title VII and EEOC guidance
  • Forms of harassment: verbal, physical, visual, sexual, cyber, and discriminatory
  • Quid pro quo versus hostile work environment claims
  • Protected characteristics under federal anti-discrimination law
  • Employee reporting options - internal complaint procedures and EEOC charge filing
  • Anti-retaliation protections for employees who report or participate in investigations
  • Employer obligations to prevent, investigate, and correct harassment

Who Needs This Training

  • All employees as part of annual harassment prevention training
  • Managers and supervisors who carry heightened legal obligations when they observe or receive reports of harassment
  • HR professionals responsible for harassment complaint intake and investigation
  • New hires completing onboarding compliance requirements
  • Employees in states that require annual or biennial harassment training
  • Organizations refreshing their harassment training program with updated content

Regulatory Background

Workplace harassment is governed by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and related federal and state statutes enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor (DOL). OSHA's General Duty Clause (29 USC 654, Section 5(a)(1)) has been interpreted to require employers to address workplace harassment as a recognized psychosocial hazard. In FY 2024, the EEOC received 88,531 new charges, filed 111 merits lawsuits, and resolved 132 merits cases for over $40 million. Retaliation claims continue to lead all charge categories, accounting for over 47% of all filings. Multiple states now mandate specific harassment training with defined content and duration requirements, including California, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, and Maine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Federal law does not explicitly mandate harassment training for private employers. However, the Supreme Court's Faragher-Ellerth defense framework creates a strong incentive, as employers can limit their liability for supervisor harassment by demonstrating they exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment, which courts regularly assess by looking at whether training was provided. Additionally, several states, including California, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, and Maine, impose mandatory harassment training requirements on employers.
Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a person in authority conditions an employment benefit, such as a promotion, raise, or continued employment, on the submission to unwelcome sexual advances or conduct. Hostile work environment harassment occurs when unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Both forms violate Title VII.
Federal law prohibits retaliation against employees who report harassment, participate in an investigation, or file a charge with the EEOC. Retaliation can include termination, demotion, schedule changes, exclusion from meetings, or any other materially adverse action. Retaliation claims accounted for over 47% of all EEOC charges in FY 2024, making it the single most common charge category.
Employers should take every harassment complaint seriously and initiate a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation. This includes interviewing the complainant, the accused, and any witnesses; preserving relevant evidence; and taking interim measures if necessary to protect the complainant. If the investigation confirms harassment occurred, the employer must take corrective action reasonably calculated to end the harassment and prevent it from recurring. Documentation of every step is essential.
This course covers the federal legal framework and general harassment prevention principles applicable to all employers. States with specific training mandates, such as California (SB 1343), New York (Labor Law Section 201-g), and Connecticut (PA 19-16), impose particular content, duration, and frequency requirements. Employers in those states should verify compliance with their state's specific mandate and may need to pair this course with their applicable state-specific training.

Related Courses

Employers building a comprehensive anti-harassment program often pair this course with Workplace Harassment Training: Industrial Work Settings for employees in manufacturing and construction environments, and with Workplace Dynamics: Bullying and Boundaries to address conduct that may not rise to the level of illegal harassment but still damages workplace culture. The Workplace Compliance (HR) bundle includes both harassment and workplace violence training at a volume discount.

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$24.95
per person
Volume Pricing
Team Size Price per Person
1 - 9$24.95
10 - 24$19.95
25 - 49$17.95
50 - 99$17.50
Subtotal $24.95
Language

This course is available in English, Spanish, and Multi-Language CC at no additional charge.

Certificate of completion included. Downloadable upon passing the final assessment.

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$24.95
per person