Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination
Length
30 Minutes to 2 Hours
Course Type
Meets all State-Specific Mandates; Global Available; Mobile Friendly
Audience
Supervisors and Non-Supervisory Employees
Empower Your
Workforce
Sexual Harassment Prevention and Workplace Discrimination Training that Builds Respect and Protects Your People
A workplace free from sexual harassment and discrimination isn’t just a legal requirement—it’s a powerful driver of culture, innovation, and business performance.
Compliance is only the starting point. Real change happens when training builds empathy, awareness, and accountability, creating environments where employees feel safe to contribute, grow, and thrive. SHIFT’s courses are built to do exactly that—engaging learners in a way that shifts mindsets, changes behavior, and supports lasting cultural and bottom-line impact.
Our streamlined course design simplifies complex training mandates. With SHIFT, learners can take one comprehensive sexual harassment prevention course that satisfies multiple state, local and federal requirements, saving time and reducing administrative burden.
Global coverage via core international course also available, plus country-specific versions for Canada, the UK, Australia, and India, and industry-specific versions for retail, healthcare, and manufacturing and trade.
SHIFT HR Compliance Training’s legal experts confirm that this course complies with current applicable law, including global, federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws and any state or local mandatory training requirements. The course has also been reviewed for compliance with the government’s relevant Executive Orders.
Course content will continue to be reviewed and will be updated if necessary to ensure all materials accurately reflect current applicable law.
US Mandates
Global Courses Available
SHIFT’s Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination course equips employees and supervisors with the tools they need to foster a respectful, inclusive environment. Through interactive, real-world scenarios and current workplace issues, learners gain practical strategies to recognize, prevent, respond to, and report inappropriate behavior—empowering them to be part of the solution.
This fast, focused course covers the must-know standards for preventing sexual harassment and workplace discrimination. In just 30 minutes for employees (or 40 minutes for supervisors) learners gain practical, legally sound guidance to recognize, prevent, and respond to inappropriate conduct. Designed for quick completion without compromising on impact.
- Identify unlawful sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and develop effective strategies to prevent, address, and respond to them
- Recognize inappropriate behavior early and understand how to safely intervene and report concerns
- Clarify the difference between intent and impact to better assess workplace conduct before lines are crossed
- Empower employees with bystander intervention skills and proactive prevention techniques
- Reinforce learning through storytelling and real-life scenarios that drive sustainable behavior change, supported by positive feedback and coaching
Our streamlined course design allows learners in the US to take ONE course and self-select the location(s) they work and manage in, while also helping administrators easily track the training employees completed.
Intuitive design allows course to dynamically adjust to mandated time requirements.
Download our US State Mandate Guide.
Global coverage via core international course also available, plus country-specific versions for Canada, the UK, Australia, and India, and industry-specific versions for retail, healthcare, and manufacturing and trade.
The Reality of Harassment and Discrimination
SHIFT can help you protect your employees, your customers, and your bottom line.
Paid annually by employers in EEOC settlements
Lost over five years due to turnover caused by toxic workplace cultures
Average for a single harassment or discrimination lawsuit
Course Details
| Format | Self-paced eLearning with interactive scenarios and reflection points |
| Duration | 30 minutes – 2 hours, depending on state-specific mandates |
| Languages | English and Spanish (others available upon request) |
| Certification | Instant certificate download |
| Accessibility | WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, screen-reader compatible, closed captions included |
| Flexible Delivery Options | SCORM-ready training, hosted by SHIFT or on your LMS |
| Customization | Turnkey branding options |
| White Glove Implementation | Dedicated Project Manager |
SHIFT Your Expectations of Compliance Training
Stop settling for boring training that’s in one ear and out the other – discover innovative training solutions that drive lasting behavior change and business growth.
Why SHIFT
Minimize your risk exposure with training built by top-rate employment law attorneys with deep expertise in state, federal, and global mandates.
Boost course completion and knowledge retention with engaging and interactive training designed by Subject Matter Experts.
Achieve lasting change with empathy-based training that shifts mindsets and behavior, with additional learning resources for reinforcement.
Stay protected against emerging risks with courses that evolve alongside shifting workplace challenges, new regulations, and timely issues.
The industry's most advanced customization makes it easy to tailor content to your brand, your people, and your policy, driving greater employee buy-in and organizational impact.
Save valuable time and resources with our dedicated support team, ensuring a smooth and seamless implementation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to consider when choosing the right Sexual Harassment & Discrimination Training
Sexual harassment at work involves unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature (or based on sex/gender) that affects employment conditions or creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment. This can include direct requests for sexual favors (quid pro quo) or a pattern of unwanted conduct (hostile work environment), such as sexual comments, gestures, inappropriate touching, or repeated unwanted advances. The key elements are that the conduct is unwelcome, relates to sex or gender, and is serious or persistent enough to affect someone’s work environment or employment.
Yes. In the context of sexual harassment, the focus is not just on the intent of the person engaging in the behavior but also on the impact of that behavior on the recipient. Even if the actor claims they “did not mean anything by it,” if the behavior was unwelcome, related to sex or gender, and created a hostile or offensive work environment (or affected employment decisions), it can qualify as sexual harassment. Intent does not excuse the harm caused nor eliminate legal or organizational liability.
If you experience or witness sexual harassment, you should take the following steps: (1) Document what happened — note dates, times, locations, what was said or done, and any witnesses. (2) Review your employer’s sexual harassment or anti-harassment policy to understand the procedure for reporting. (3) Report the behavior to your designated contact (HR, supervisor, compliance officer) as soon as possible. If you are a witness, you can also report what you saw or heard. (4) Ask for support and follow-up. Your employer should investigate and take appropriate action, protect you from retaliation, and maintain confidentiality to the extent possible. If the employer fails to act, you may have legal rights to pursue outside regulatory channels or legal claims.
Investing in sexual harassment and discrimination training helps prevent costly lawsuits, reduces employee turnover, and minimizes productivity loss caused by toxic workplace behavior. Proactive training fosters a respectful culture, which lowers the risk of legal claims and reputational damage, ultimately saving organizations significant money over time.
Effective harassment and discrimination training is practical, relatable, and designed to drive behavior change, not just compliance. It uses real-world scenarios, role-specific guidance, and interactive content to help employees recognize, prevent, and respond to misconduct. Regular updates and inclusive design ensure it stays relevant and resonates with today’s workforce.
Under federal law—primarily Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)—discrimination occurs when an employee is treated unfairly or unequally because of a protected characteristic.
A protected characteristic is a personal trait that is legally safeguarded from discrimination, such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information.
Examples of discrimination include denying a promotion based on race, paying employees differently because of gender, and refusing to provide reasonable accommodations for a disability.
Harassment is a specific form of discrimination involving unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile, intimidating, or abusive work environment or results in an adverse employment decision (like being fired or demoted).
Harassment can be verbal, physical, or visual, and includes sexual harassment (quid pro quo or hostile work environment). The behavior must be unwelcome and either severe or persistent enough to affect work conditions.
Offensive jokes or slurs about someone’s race or gender, unwanted sexual advances or comments, and displaying discriminatory images or symbols are all examples of workplace harassment.
