What Do the New Harassment Prevention Training Laws Mean for your Business?

“By January 1, 2021, an employer having five or more employees shall provide at least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all nonsupervisory employees in California. Thereafter, each employer covered by this section shall provide sexual harassment training and education to each employee in California once every two years.”

When do my employees need to be trained?

The provisions of the act state that both non-managerial and managerial employees must receive training by January 1, 2021. After January 1, 2021, employees must receive a training refresh every two years. Non-supervisory employees must be trained within six months of their date of hire. 

In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 778 to clarify the discrepancies surrounding the new training requirements for employers. These clarifications extended the deadline to 2021, as well as pointed out the necessity for employers to retrain employees that had been trained in 2018. 

One important clarification that SB 778 made is that employers who conducted legally sufficient training in 2019 will not be required to provide further training until two years following. 

Seasonal and temporary employees hired to work for less than six months remain the same. 

What are the training requirements? 

Under this new requirement, employers with five or more employees must provide harassment prevention training for all of their employees. Managerial employees are required to perform two hours of training, while non-managerial employees are required to perform one hour of training. 

Employers with less than five employees or contractors are not included in this newly updated requirement. 

What should be included in the training?

Employers can provide training in a live classroom setting (which may not be feasible right now), or through e-learning or live webinars. If you choose to administer training via e-learning, the training must provide the trainer’s contact information. Please see the Department of Fair Employment (DFEH)’s online courses.

The Department of Fair Employment lists a few items that must be included in the training you perform for your employees. These include:

• The definition of harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act
• The statutes and case-law prohibiting and preventing sexual harassment
• The various types of conduct that are considered sexual harassment
• Potential remedies for victims of harassment
• How to prevent harassment from happening, as well as examples of harassment in the workplace
• The supervisor’s obligation to report sexual harassment
• Clarification surrounding the complaint process is confidential
• Harassment victim resources, including where and to whom they should report harassment
• How employees must correct harassing behavior
• What to do if a supervisor is accused of harassment
• How to create a proper anti-harassment policy
• The definition of “abusive conduct” under Govt. Code section 12950.1, subdivision (g)(2)
• Harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
• Asking questions that assess your employee’s learning, skill-building, understanding, and application of the content, including hypothetical scenarios and discussion questions

What happens if you haven’t trained your employees in time?

If you haven’t arranged for your employees to complete the required harassment prevention training before January 1, 2021, the DFEH will work with you to ensure compliance with the law.

Harassment prevention training is an important aspect of company culture. Your employees must feel safe and secure in the workplace. When they are informed about how to handle potential harassment situations they will feel more confident in your organization to handle these scenarios.