Tag: sexual harrassment

What You Should Know About California AB 1825 – Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors

petrides_tom

AB 1825, (California Government Code 12950.1) mandates that employers who do business in California and employ 50 or more employees provide two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors located in California at least once every two years.

Kaplan Eduneering offered a webinar: What You Should Know About California AB 1825 – Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors. Thomas H. Petrides a Partner at K&L Gates LLP gave the presentation. These are my notes.

The law was first enacted effective January 2005, so for many employers, 2009 is another required “training year”.

In August of 2007, the California Fair Employment & Housing Commission issued Regulations regarding the required content of the training materials for AB 1825 harassment prevention training programs, including “E-learning” interactive, computer-based programs.

“Supervisors” have a broad definition. Anyone that has the authority to direct other employees may be enough to classify that person as a supervisor.

Under California law, the employer will be strictly liable for unlawful harassment of its supervisors, even if the harassment was unknown by the employer. (This is different than federal law.)

Training is only required for supervisors that are located in California. But if you don’t do the training for other similar supervisors in other states, you risk having a different standards attack in a lawsuit.

It is better to be over-inclusive in providing the training. The regulations provide that attending training does not create an inference that the employee is a supervisor.

The supervisors have to stay for two full hours, whether is in person training or remote training. If you leave 15 minutes early, you are not sufficiently trained. Tom pointed out that the training need not be two consecutive hours.

New supervisors have to received training within 6 months. However, if it’s a new employee and they received training at their prior job, you can use that. The burden is on the new employer to show that the prior training was sufficient.

See:

Littler Mendelson White Paper on California’s Mandatory Training Law

Littler mendelson, P.C. put together a White Paper on California’s Mandatory Training Law for Sexual Harrassment.

The purpose of this white paper is to provide analysis and practical information to employers as they re-train their supervisors in the 2007 training year pursuant to California’s mandatory training law.

The authors of the White Paper are David Goldman, Tara Bedeau and Christopher Cobey.

How Big Do You Need to Be to be Required to Provide Sexual Harassment Training

California Assembly Bill 1825 codified in California Government Code section 12950.1 requires that employers train supervisors on sexual harassment every two years if the company has 50 or more employees.

But does that mean more than 50 employees in California or more than 50 employees in total?

The Sexual Harassment Training and Education Regulations Section 7288.0 (a)(5) provides:

“Having 50 or more employees” means employing or engaging fifty or more employees or contractors for each working day in any twenty consecutive weeks in the current calendar year or preceding calendar year. There is no requirement that the 50 employees or contractors work at the same location or all work or reside in California.

Regulations for Sexual Harassment Training in California

On April 23, 2007, the Fair Employment and Housing Commission Adopted its March 27, 2007 Sexual Harassment Training and Education Regulations With No Further Changes. I previously posted about the enactment of the statue: Sexual Harassment Training in California.

Sexual Harassment Training and Education Regulations

Sexual Harassment Training Requirements in California

California Assembly Bill 1825 codified in California Government Code section 12950.1 requires that employers train supervisors on sexual harassment every two years.

AB 1825 applies only to entities that regularly employ 50 or more employees or regularly receive the services of 50 or more persons pursuant to a contract. Presumably the “receiving services” language is an attempt to avoid deciding if a worker is an employee or independent contractor. Although not specified by the statute, courts have held that Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)’s other minimum employee requirements count only employees working in California.

The law imposes an initial and continual training requirement on covered employers.  Covered employers must provide sexual harassment training and education to each supervisory employee once every two years, and to each new supervisory employee within six months of their assumption of a supervisory position.

While AB 1825 does not define “supervisor,” presumably, the definition contained in the FEHA will apply. A “supervisor” is any individual having the authority “to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or the responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend that action . . . if the exercise of that authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.” (Government Code § 12926(r).)

The training must be conducted via “classroom or other effective interactive training” and include the following topics:

  • Information and practical guidance regarding the federal and state statutory provisions concerning the prohibition against and the prevention of sexual harassment.
  • Information about the correction of sexual harassment and the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment.
  • Practical examples aimed at instructing supervisors in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.