Summary:
All employers located or doing business in Maine, which employ more than 15 employees, must provide sexual harassment training to all employees.
Are there any relevant Maine laws I should know about?
Title 26 M.R.S.A., Section 806 & 807 (1)
What companies must provide training?
Employers with more than 15 employees (2)
Who must be trained?
All employees and supervisors. (3)
How frequently must employees be trained?
The law is silent on the need to train an employee more than once.
When must employees be trained?
Within 1 year of being hired or promoted to supervisor.
What are the minimum training requirements?
- Training must include:
- The illegality of sexual harassment
- The definition of sexual harassment under state and federal laws and federal regulations
- 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
- Additional interactive training to all supervisors including:
- Specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees
- Methods that supervisors must take to ensure immediate and appropriate corrective action in addressing sexual harassment complaints
- There is no minimum amount of training time so long as the training meets the minimum standards required
- The training is not required to be interactive, although the Maine Human Rights Commission noted that that interactive training, including web-based training, is considered the most effective method of providing training
- Employers shall use the checklist provided by the department to develop a sexual harassment training program
- Employers shall keep a record of the training, including a record of employees who have received the training. Employers must keep a record of who has completed the training for at least 3 years
- Maine Revised Statutes, Section 806, Title 26, Chapter 7, Subchapter 4-B, Section 806 & 807 was signed into law June 1991 and became effective October 1991 requiring sexual harassment training. Maine Human Rights Act Title 5, Part 12 prohibits discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation and harassment based on protected characteristics. The Department of Labor published a Sexual Harassment Education and Training checklist.
- “Employer” means any person, partnership, firm, association, corporation, employment agency, labor organization, joint apprenticeship committee or other legal entity, public or private, that is located or doing business in the State.
- “Employee” means any person engaged to work on a steady or regular basis, whether full-time or part-time, by an employer located or doing business in the State. The law is silent on the definition of supervisor.
