California harassment training requirements

Who needs the training

Government Code section 12950.1 applies to employers with 5 or more employees. Under 2 CCR 11024(a)(3) and (a)(6), unpaid interns, unpaid volunteers and contractors count towards the 5, and the 5 do not have to work at the same location or all work or live in California.

Employees located outside California count towards the threshold but do not have to be trained, according to the Civil Rights Department (CRD). You also do not have to train independent contractors, volunteers or unpaid interns, although CRD calls it a best practice.

Non-supervisory employees need at least 1 hour. Supervisors located in California, as defined in Government Code section 12926, need at least 2 hours (2 CCR 11024(a)(9), (b)(1)). We have separate templates for the employee course and the supervisor course.

Minors aged 14 to 17 must be trained too (2 CCR 11024(b)(8)). For temporary workers placed by a temporary services employer, the agency provides the training, not the client (2 CCR 11024(b)(9)).

How often

• New employees: within 6 months of their hire date (2 CCR 11024(b)(4)).
• New supervisors: within 6 months of taking up the supervisory role, whether hired or promoted (2 CCR 11024(b)(5)).
• After that: once every 2 years, tracked per employee or by a company-wide training year (2 CCR 11024(b)(1)).
• Seasonal, temporary or other staff hired for less than 6 months: within 30 calendar days after hire or within 100 hours worked, whichever comes first. Staff hired for both fewer than 30 days and fewer than 100 hours are not required to be trained (2 CCR 11024(b)(9)).
• Businesses created after 1 January 2021: within 6 months of being established, then every 2 years (2 CCR 11024(b)(3)).
• Trained by another employer in the last 2 years: the employee must read and acknowledge your anti-harassment policy within 6 months, then goes on a 2-year schedule from that last training. You carry the burden of showing the earlier training complied (2 CCR 11024(b)(6)).

What the training must cover

The training covers harassment based on sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation (2 CCR 11024(a)(5)). Under 2 CCR 11024(c)(2) it must include, at least:

1. Definitions of unlawful harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII.
2. FEHA and Title VII provisions and case law on preventing harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
3. The types of conduct that are harassment.
4. Remedies available to victims and the employer's and individuals' potential liability.
5. Strategies to prevent harassment.
6. Supervisors' obligation to report harassment, discrimination and retaliation they become aware of.
7. Practical examples, such as scenarios from case law, news and workplace hypotheticals.
8. The limited confidentiality of the complaint process.
9. Resources for victims, such as who to report to.
10. Steps to correct harassing behaviour, including the employer's duty to investigate a complaint.
11. What to do if a supervisor is personally accused of harassment.
12. The essential elements of an anti-harassment policy and how to use it. Each employee must receive a copy of your policy and acknowledge it.
13. Abusive conduct: conduct with malice that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive and that is unrelated to legitimate business interests, its effects, and that a single act is not abusive conduct unless especially severe or egregious.

Bystander intervention training is optional. CRD says it is "not required by law at this time", but Government Code section 12950.2 lets employers add it.

Can it be done online?

Yes. The law requires "effective interactive training". Under 2 CCR 11024(a)(2) that can be in-person classroom training, a live webinar, individual e-learning, or CRD's own online course. Audio and video are supplements only and cannot meet the requirement by themselves. CRD says a text-only training to read does not count.

Every format must include questions that assess learning, skill-building activities and numerous hypothetical scenarios with discussion questions (2 CCR 11024(a)(2)(F)).

E-learning must give a link or directions to contact a trainer, who must answer questions no more than two business days after they are asked (2 CCR 11024(a)(2)(B)). An e-learning course must take the learner no less than 1 hour (or 2 hours for supervisors) to complete, and CRD says it cannot be watched as a group.

Webinars must let employees ask questions and get answers, and the employer must document that each remote attendee attended the whole session and took part (2 CCR 11024(a)(2)(C)).

Training can be split into segments that add up to the required hours. Classroom and webinar segments must each be at least half an hour (2 CCR 11024(b)(7)). CRD says the employer pays for the training and employees cannot be made to take it in their personal time.

Can you use CRD's free course?

Yes. CRD offers free online courses for supervisors and non-supervisors that it says satisfy section 12950.1. They are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog. Employers do not have to use them.

CRD's courses may not be copied or loaded into an employer's own e-learning platform. Questions arising from them go to the employer's human resources department or an equally qualified professional, not to CRD.

Who can deliver it

A qualified trainer, defined in 2 CCR 11024(a)(10), must have the knowledge to teach the listed topics and be one of the following: an attorney admitted for at least 2 years whose practice includes FEHA or Title VII employment law; an HR professional, harassment prevention consultant or peer-to-peer trainer with at least 2 years of practical experience in harassment prevention training, complaints, investigations or advice; or a law school, college or university professor or instructor with 20 instruction hours or 2 years teaching employment law. Less experienced people may team-teach classroom or webinar sessions under a qualified trainer.

There is no certification for trainers, and CRD does not approve or recommend training providers.

What records to keep

Keep documentation for at least 2 years (2 CCR 11024(b)(2)): names of employees trained, date of training, sign-in sheet, copies of certificates issued, type of training, copies of all written or recorded training materials, and the name of the training provider. CRD says to keep it on your premises, not send it to CRD.

For e-learning, the trainer keeps all written questions and responses for 2 years after the response. For webinars, the employer keeps a copy of the webinar, its materials and written questions and answers for 2 years (2 CCR 11024(a)(2)(B), (C)).

Related duties: policy and posters

• Give employees CRD's sexual harassment poster or fact sheet, or equivalent information (Government Code section 12950, as summarised by CRD).
• Post CRD's transgender rights poster in a prominent and accessible place (2 CCR 11023(d)).
• Have a written harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention policy that links to CRD's online training courses (2 CCR 11023(b)).
• Translate the policy into every language spoken by at least 10 percent of the workforce at a facility (2 CCR 11023(e)).

Sources

• Cal. Gov. Code 12950.1
• Cal. Gov. Code 12950.2
• 2 CCR 11024, Required training and education regarding harassment
• 2 CCR 11023, Harassment and discrimination prevention and correction
• CRD, Sexual harassment prevention training: information for employers (October 2025)
• CRD, free sexual harassment prevention training