California employers--have you conducted your mandatory sexual harassment training?
The deadline for California employers to provide sexual harassment training
to supervisors is January 1, 2006.
California law now requires all public or private employers that regularly
employ 50 or more individuals, including independent contractors and temporary
service workers. Under the law, all such employers must provide sexual harassment
training every two years to supervisory employees.
If you're covered, you must to provide two hours of sexual harassment training
and education to "supervisory employees" every two years. For state
employers, harassment training for supervisors must be incorporated into the
existing requirement of 80 hours of training for all new supervisory employees.
Supervisory employees include anyone with authority to hire, transfer, suspend,
layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees,
or the responsibility to direct other employees, adjust grievances, or effectively
to recommend that action. This is true as long as the exercise of authority
requires independent judgment and isn't merely routine or clerical.
You must provide the initial training no later than January 1, 2006,
for supervisors employed as of July 1, 2005, and for all new supervisory employees
within six months of their assuming a supervisory position. If you have provided
such training to supervisory employees after January 1, 2003, you aren't subject
to the January 1, 2006, deadline, although the two-year retraining requirement
still applies.
The training must consist of classroom or other "effective interactive"
training and education regarding sexual harassment. The training must offer
information and practical guidance on federal and state requirements regarding
sexual harassment prohibitions, prevention, correction, and remedies for victims.
It must also give practical examples of how to prevent harassment, discrimination,
and retaliation. Plus, the new law requires that the training be presented by
trainers or educators with knowledge or expertise in harassment prevention.
The law merely establishes a minimum threshold for harassment training and
doesn't discourage employers from providing longer, more frequent, or more involved
training as may be necessary to prevent and correct harassment and discrimination
in the workplace.
If you don't comply with the new requirements, the Fair Employment and Housing
Commission can issue an order directing you to comply.
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