Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2190 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 848 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2190
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Christopher J. Worrell
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to sexual harassment workplace training.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Christopher J. Worrell5th Suffolk1/13/2025Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/21/2025Kathleen R. LaNatra12th Plymouth2/21/2025Sean Reid11th Essex2/21/2025James Arciero2nd Middlesex2/24/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/24/2025Kevin G. Honan17th Suffolk3/4/2025Sean Garballey23rd Middlesex3/12/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk3/12/2025 1 of 5
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 848 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2190
18	18	By Representative Worrell of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2190) of
19	19	Christopher J. Worrell and others relative to employer policies and training to prevent unlawful
20	20	harassment, including sexual harassment. Labor and Workforce Development.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to sexual harassment workplace training.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 Chapter 151B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby
30	30	2amended by striking out Section 3A and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
31	31	3 Section 3A: Employers' policies against harassment; preparation of model policy;
32	32	4education and training programs
33	33	5 (a) All employers, employment agencies and labor organizations shall promote a
34	34	6workplace free of all forms of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment.
35	35	7 (b) Every employer shall:
36	36	8 (1) adopt a policy against unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment, which shall
37	37	9include:
38	38	10 (i) a statement that all forms of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment, in the
39	39	11workplace are unlawful and will not be tolerated, and that explains that it is unlawful for a person 2 of 5
40	40	12to be subject to harassment because of the person’s sex or any other characteristic protected by
41	41	13section 4 of this chapter;
42	42	14 (ii) a statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint
43	43	15of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment, or for cooperating in an investigation of a
44	44	16complaint for unlawful harassment;
45	45	17 (iii) a description and examples of unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment;
46	46	18 (iv) a statement of the range of consequences for employees who are found to have
47	47	19committed unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment;
48	48	20 (v) a description of the process for filing internal complaints about harassment and the
49	49	21contact information of the person or persons to whom complaints should be made; and
50	50	22 (vi) the identity of the appropriate state and federal employment discrimination
51	51	23enforcement agencies, and directions as to how to contact such agencies.
52	52	24 (2) provide to all employees an individual written copy of the employer's policy against
53	53	25unlawful harassment by January 1, 2027; provided, however, that an existing employee that is
54	54	26changing positions shall be provided a copy at such time of the change in position; provided
55	55	27further that a new employee shall be provided such a copy at the time of hire.
56	56	28 (c) The commission shall prepare and make available to employers subject to this section
57	57	29a model policy and poster consistent with federal and state statutes and regulations, which may
58	58	30be used by employers for the purposes of this section.
59	59	31 (d) An employer's failure to provide the information required to be provided by this
60	60	32section shall not, in and of itself, result in the liability of said employer to any current or former 3 of 5
61	61	33employee or applicant in any action alleging unlawful harassment. An employer's compliance
62	62	34with the notice requirements of this section shall not, in and of itself, protect the employer from
63	63	35liability for unlawful harassment of any current or former employee or applicant.
64	64	36 (e) Employers and labor organizations are required to provide employees with training to
65	65	37prevent unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment, within six months after the employee
66	66	38is hired, promoted within the employer. An employer that does not use the model training
67	67	39developed by the Massachusetts commission against discrimination must ensure that the training
68	68	40that they use meets or exceeds the following minimum standards.
69	69	41 The training must:
70	70	42 (1) be focused on compliance with the legal requirements of employment non-
71	71	43discrimination law and on preventing unlawful harassment, including sexual harassment, in the
72	72	44workplace;
73	73	45 (2) include an interactive component, whether in-person, on-line, or remote; provided that
74	74	46trainings are led by one or more qualified trainers which allows participants to ask questions and
75	75	47receive answers in a timely fashion; and in the case of on-line trainings, the online program must
76	76	48allow participants to ask questions anonymously about the topics covered in the training and
77	77	49receive responses from the trainer(s) within two business days;
78	78	50 (3) be a minimum of one hour every year;
79	79	51 (4) include an explanation and examples of unlawful harassment and unlawful retaliation
80	80	52consistent with guidance issued by the Massachusetts commission against discrimination; 4 of 5
81	81	53provided, however, that for employers with 100 or more employees, the examples and scenarios
82	82	54should be tailored to the specific type of workplace or industry;
83	83	55 (5) include information on internal and external remedies available to victims of
84	84	56harassment;
85	85	57 (6) include bystander intervention training consistent with guidance issued by the
86	86	58Massachusetts commission against discrimination; and
87	87	59 (7) include information on the responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees
88	88	60to address unlawful harassment and unlawful retaliation.
89	89	61 (8) include, in the case of on-line training, standards and requirements that demonstrate
90	90	62the active participation of the employee in the training, such as showing time spent watching
91	91	63videos, answering questions and otherwise, engaging in the program. On-line trainings shall also
92	92	64include the ability of employees to ask anonymous questions about the topic and receive
93	93	65responses from the trainer(s) within two business days. The employer shall maintain a record of
94	94	66the employee questions asked and the responses provided for a minimum of five (5) years, while
95	95	67preserving the anonymity of the employees.
96	96	68 Each employee must receive training on an annual basis, starting January 1, 2027. An
97	97	69employer’s or labor organization’s compliance with the training requirements of this section
98	98	70shall not, in and of itself, protect the employer or labor organization from liability for unlawful
99	99	71harassment of any current or former employee or applicant. All employers shall keep a record of
100	100	72their employees’ completion of all trainings required by this subsection (e). Such records may be
101	101	73electronic. Employers shall maintain such records for at least 5 years and must be made available
102	102	74to the Attorney General or the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination on request. 5 of 5
103	103	75 (f) The Attorney General may promulgate any rules, regulations or guidelines that are
104	104	76necessary and appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this section.