Massachusetts Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

Massachusetts does not require sexual harassment training. It does require something most states do not: a written sexual harassment policy, distributed to every new hire and re-distributed to every employee at least once a year. That is a mandate, and a lot of employers miss it because they are looking for a training requirement and do not find one.

Six is the number

Chapter 151B of the General Laws, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act, applies at six employees. Below six you fall outside it, though other protections still exist. At six you pick up the full weight of one of the older and more potent state anti-discrimination statutes in the country.

Chapter 151B was enacted in 1946, and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is the second oldest fair employment practice agency in the United States. It has had a long time to develop its procedures, and it shows.

Massachusetts in practice

Boston is the capital and the largest city, followed by Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge, and Lowell. The Union Oyster House in Boston has been serving continuously since 1826, making it the oldest restaurant in the country still operating, which gives some sense of how long hospitality has been a serious employer here.

The Boston and Cambridge restaurant and bar scene is dense, seasonal along the Cape and the North Shore, and heavily staffed by students. High turnover in a state with an annual policy distribution requirement is a specific administrative problem.

What is actually required

• Adopt a written sexual harassment policy containing specific provisions set out in Chapter 151B

• Provide a copy to every new employee at the time of hire

• Re-distribute the policy to all employees at least annually

• Training is encouraged rather than required, and MCAD guidance emphasizes its importance for both employees and managers

Complaints go to the MCAD within 300 days of the alleged act. Chapter 151B allows emotional distress and punitive damages, which makes it a more potent instrument for a complainant than its federal counterpart, and the MCAD holds prosecutorial powers letting it pursue matters a private litigant could not.

If you do not train, the MCAD can order you to

This is the part worth sitting with. Where an employer is found to have violated Chapter 151B, the remedies available to the MCAD include a wide range of affirmative relief, and training is explicitly among them, alongside cease and desist orders, policy changes, reinstatement, civil penalties, attorney fees, and damages.

So the practical question is not whether your staff will be trained. It is whether that happens on your schedule and your budget, or on the Commission’s after a finding.

Failing to investigate is its own violation

Massachusetts courts have held that an employer’s failure to investigate known harassment can itself violate Chapter 151B by aiding and abetting the discrimination, and that failing to take remedial measures in response to complaints is a direct violation.

That places the obligation squarely on whoever receives the complaint, which in a restaurant or retail setting is usually a shift manager rather than an HR department. Training the people who actually receive complaints is where the exposure sits.

Running the annual cycle

The annual policy distribution is the requirement most likely to lapse, because it is not tied to an event. Nothing prompts it. Pairing distribution with annual training gives the obligation a date and produces a dated record showing who received the policy and when, which is exactly what the MCAD asks for during an investigation.

Massachusetts sexual harassment training FAQ

Is sexual harassment training required in Massachusetts?

Training is encouraged rather than required. A written sexual harassment policy is required for employers with six or more employees, and it must be distributed to new hires and to all employees at least annually.

How many employees before Chapter 151B applies?

Six. Below that threshold the statute does not apply, though other protections may.

How long does an employee have to file with the MCAD?

300 days from the alleged discriminatory act. It is a strict deadline.

Can the MCAD order an employer to provide training?

Yes. Training is among the forms of affirmative relief the Commission can order where a violation of Chapter 151B is found.

What happens if a manager does not investigate a complaint?

Massachusetts courts have held that failing to investigate known harassment can violate Chapter 151B by aiding and abetting, and that failing to take remedial action is a direct violation.

Harassment training in other states

Requirements differ sharply by state on duration, frequency, and headcount thresholds, so take the version for the state you operate in: Michigan, Nevada, Maine, and more in the full compliance catalog. If your state sets no mandate, the general non-state-specific course covers the federal baseline. Track completion across a roster from the Learn Brands dashboard.