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Harassment Training and the California Labor Law Requirements (AB-1825)

Guest post by: Ari Rosenstein

Article Overview: On January 1, 2005, California’s Sexual Harassment Training law (AB-1825) went into affect. When AB1825 was passed it became more than an expectation, it became the law, requiring the management teams of businesses in California with 50 or more employees to be trained according to specifics as outlined by AB1825.

Harassment Training and the California Labor Law Requirements (AB-1825)

On January 1, 2005, AB-1825 went into affect. Also known as California's Sexual Harassment Training law, the law begins by stating that all employers in California with 50 or more employees must comply. Employees include full time, part time, temporary, contractors, agents, and seasonal workers (CA Gov Code sec. 12940(j)(5) who work under contract for each working day in 20 consecutive weeks in the current calendar year or preceding calendar year. The law has a fairly broad and encompassing definition of "employee". Finally, the law only applies to California based employers, though employees may be located anywhere in the world. When AB1825 was passed it became more than an expectation, it became the law, requiring the management teams of businesses with 50 or more employees to be trained according to specifics as outlined by AB1825.

Who must attend training?

AB8125 applies to all lead people, supervisors, foremen, managers, and owners (if present at work). Essentially, it applies to any employee that can directly impact an employee's status, exercises independent judgment, directs other employee, or has the authority to hire, transfer, suspend, layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, adjust grievances, or discipline other employees.

It also applies to those who may not have direct authority, but can recommend and greatly influence the employment status of an employee. These managers and supervisors are perceived by the employee as an individual with greater authority than the employee, and these individuals have the power to influence the decision of those who make the choices regarding an employee's status.

When must they receive training?

Newly promoted or newly hired supervisors must receive this training within 6 months of assuming their responsibilities. After that, they are required to join in the normal 2-year cycle for the company. This may require retraining sooner than 2 years. California is specific about a company having only 1 designated training year or cycle.

If a newly hired supervisor/manager can provide proof of training, and the employer chooses to accept the proof (having verified it's authenticity) then they must have the new employee sign an acknowledgement that they have received the company's policy and then they will go into the retraining cycle for the company.

Duration of Training

A minimum of two hours of highly interactive harassment training is required. Two hours of training is defined as "two hours of classroom, or two hours of webinar or no less than two hours of Elearning."

In addition, training should go beyond sexual harassment to cover other protected categories, such as general harassment and discriminatory employment practices. This additional information you add in can be included within the two hour time frame

Frequency of Training and Tracking Requirements

Managers, supervisors and lead-people are required to undergo training every 2 years.

There are two methods permitted for tracking the two-year retraining requirement:

1. Individually. This is very effective for smaller groups of supervisors and managers. With this method, employers can track each supervisor individually and they must complete retraining no later than the anniversary of the two year training date.
2. Training year tracking. A "training year" is designated as the retraining period, and the retraining of all management staff must be accomplished within that time frame. For example, a large employer with hundreds of managers establishes May as their training month, so managers trained in May of 2011 will all be retrained in May 2013. All managers hired after May 2011 will also receive retraining in May 2013.

Conclusion

Obviously, creating and maintaining a compliant harassment training schedule is no easy task. However, labor law in California demands it of employers, and for a few hours every two years, the expense and small time period dramatically outweigh the consequences of a lawsuit. Even if no litigation occurs, a well behaved staff and professional work environment will be more productive for everyone. When people feel safe, when they are treated respectfully and with dignity we see powerful and positive results: improved morale, greater employee loyalty and dedication which reduces turnover and conflict which in turn leads to greater quality and productivity. Clearly, a win-win scenario for everyone.

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Article Tags: California labor laws, employment law in California, harassment training, human resources



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