Maine Title 26, Section 807 Sexual Harassment Training
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This course satisfies Maine Revised Statute, Title 26, Section 807 Training Requirement.
In 1991, Maine became one of the first states to codify sexual harassment training as a requirement for employers. Since then, California and Connecticut brought forth their own sexual harassment training laws. This section is for employers seeking to enhance their knowledge of the sexual harassment training requirements for employers in the State of Maine.
Maine’s sexual harassment training law requires employers with fifteen or more employees to provide sexual harassment training (Connecticut and California require such training for employers with fifty or more employees).
Maine law requires that the training be provided for all employees; this includes supervisors, but contains specific distinctions on what must be included in training for supervisors and managers (California and Connecticut require special training for managers and supervisors, only).
Contact us today to learn more about the sexual harassment training we provide, which is fully compliant with Maine law.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Types of Businesses Are Required to Provide Training?
- Which Employees Must Receive Training?
- How Often Should Training Occur?
- How Long Should the Training Last?
- Who Should Conduct the Training?
- What Should the Training Course Consist of?
- How Do Supervisors Ask Questions during E-learning Courses?
- What Type of Documentation Should the Employer Retain?
- What Are the Penalties for Not Providing Training?
Answers
What Types of Businesses Are Required to Provide Training?
Maine’s statute requires that all employers with 15 or more employees provide sexual harassment training to all employees. Although Maine’s statute does not explicitly specify such, our best practices recommendation is that Maine employers with employees working outside the State of Maine (i.e., the company is based in Maine but some employees serve outside the state) as well as out-of-state employers with employees working in Maine, should see that all such employees are counted when determining whether there is a need to conduct training. It’s generally better to err on the side of safety when there exists any potential liability.
Which Employees Must Receive Training?
Maine law requires all supervisors, managers and regular employees receive sexual harassment training within one year of commencement of employment. Although Maine’s statute does not explicitly specify such, our best practices recommendation is that new businesses come into compliance with the law within one year of origination when the number of employees is expected to approach or exceed 15. This training is also valuable to companies not forced to comply because they are under the minimum required number of employees; training your associates in these matters is a viable investment with huge, if largely intangible, potential benefits.
In addition, Maine law requires employers to provide additional training for “supervisory and managerial employees” that conveys the “specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees and methods that these employees must take to ensure immediate and appropriate corrective action in addressing sexual harassment complaints”.
How Often Should Training Occur?
Under Maine law, there is no obligation for employers to provide additional sexual harassment retraining for employees who have already received training, unless an employee moves into a position of supervision or management; in such cases, the additional training must be given.
Please note that while Maine law does not require retraining, our best practices recommendation is that all employees receive retraining every two years to ensure compliance with Federal law, to aid employers in avoiding claims of negligence, and to refresh the important lessons regarding how to treat one another with the utmost respect.
How Long Should the Training Last?
The statute does not provide regulation on the specific length requirement for sexual harassment training.
Our best practices recommendation is that training should be commensurate with Federal law and similar laws in other states, such as Connecticut and California; therefore, we recommend the training module for regular employees last a minimum of one hour and the training module for supervisors and managers last a minimum of two hours.
Who Should Conduct the Training?
Maine’s statute neither provides regulation as to who are considered “qualified trainers” nor the qualifications for developing a sexual harassment training course.
Our best practices recommendation is that employers utilize a trainer who possesses one or more of the following qualifications:
- An attorney with at least two years experience and whose practice includes employment law
- A human resources professional or harassment prevention consultant with a minimum of two years practical experience designing harassment/discrimination prevention training, responding to harassment or discrimination complaints, conducting investigations of sexual harassment complaints, or advising employers on these issues
- Law school or college professors or instructors with twenty instruction hours or two or more years experience teaching employment law related to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Of What Should the Training Course Consist?
Regardless of the training method, the content should cover Maine’s statutes and regulations related to sexual harassment, as defined by Maine law, as well as Federal law. To ensure employees are attentive and focused on the material, we also recommend skill-building activities to measure understanding; your program should also be providing interactive example scenarios with question-and-answer prompts.
The required subject areas include
- The illegality of sexual harassment
- The definition of sexual harassment under state and federal laws and federal regulations, including the Maine Human Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 United States Code, Title VII, Sections 2000e to 2000e-17
- A description of sexual harassment, utilizing examples
- The internal complaint process available to the employee
- The legal recourse and complaint process available through the commission
- Directions on how to contact the commission
- The protection against retaliation as provided under Title 5, section 4553, subsection 10, paragraph D.
As mentioned previously, Maine law also requires employers to provide additional training for “supervisory and managerial employees” that conveys the “specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees and methods that these employees must take to ensure immediate and appropriate corrective action in addressing sexual harassment complaints”.
How do Supervisors Ask Questions during E-learning Courses?
Maine’s statute does not specify any requirements for “Question and Answer” sections during training; this training may include live, “instructor-led” training, distance “E-Learning” training, or a combination of both.
Despite the statutes’ lack of specificity, our best practices recommendation is that any instructor-led training include a “Question and Answer” period when employees can ask questions and confirm their understanding of the laws and terminology. For E-learning courses, we recommend the training module provide a “contact” e-mail link to the trainer or instructions on how to contact the trainer directly with questions. In addition, the trainer should answer any questions posed by participants and provide guidance related to the training within a reasonable time frame (within two business days of when a question is asked).
What Type of Documentation should the Employer Retain?
Maine’s statute does not contain any regulations requiring employers to maintain records related to training.
Our best practices recommendation: Employers should maintain records in the Human Resources Department with notations in the employees’ personnel files. These records should references the names of the employees who received training, the dates and locations of the training, the types of training received and the names of the facilitators. It is also recommended that the employees also sign their records, verifying the details of the training and confirming they received and fully understand the training. These records should be retained for the entire period of employment for each employee, for evidentiary purposes.
What are the Penalties for Not Providing Training?
Violation of Maine’s sexual harassment statute may result in an order of compliance issued by the State of Maine’s Human Rights Commission. In addition, federal sexual harassment law enforcement through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can be utilized by complainants/aggrieved employees and result in criminal and civil penalties, including monetary awards.
