CULTURE CONNECTIVITY FOR YOUR PURPOSE, PEOPLE AND PROCESSES.
California is often the trailblazer in legislation. In the case of the #metoo movement, there are a series of laws that were passed in January 2020 to address sexual harassment, whistleblowing, and a lack of women in leadership roles. Here are a few ways the #MeToo Movement has changed HR since January 2020.
While there is always room for improvement, we think the following legislation is worth revisiting. As an employer, it is your responsibility to not only do the cursory harassment prevention training but to create a company culture that supports honesty and respect and rewards whistleblowing for those who see culture parasites destroying the goodwill you spend months and years building up.
Sexual Harassment Training: Currently only employers with 50 or more employees are mandated to provide sexual harassment training. On January 1, 2019, SB 134 was enacted to ensure employers with 5 or more employees provide 2 hours of sexual harassment training to all supervisory employees and 1 hour of training to all non-supervisory employees which started on January 1, 2020, and will be every 2 years thereafter.
Disclosure of Sexual Harassment: This bill makes void and unenforceable any settlement agreement terms that prevent a party to the settlement agreement from testifying about criminal conduct or sexual harassment in an administrative, legislative, or judicial proceeding.
Sexual Harassment: This bill amends section 51.9 of the Civil Code to expand the types of relationships that can be subject to a claim for sexual harassment to include lobbyists, elected officials, directors, producers, and investors.
Settlement of Sexual Harassment Claims: This new law prohibits provisions in settlement agreements entered into after January 1, 2019, that prevent disclosure of information related to civil or administrative complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment, gender discrimination or related retaliation.
The law does not prohibit settlement agreement terms that prevent the parties from disclosing the amount of the settlement. Also, the settlement agreement may include a provision that limits the disclosure of the claimant’s identity or of facts that would lead to the discovery of the claimant’s identity, so long as it is at the claimant’s request and the opposing party is not a government agency or public official.
FEHA Amendment: This bill amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) making it unlawful for an employer, in exchange for a raise or bonus or as a condition of employment or continued employment, to require an employee to release a FEHA claim or require an employee to sign a non-disparagement agreement denying the employee the right to disclose unlawful acts in the workplace.
In addition, this bill also makes employers liable for all forms of unlawful harassment by non-employees (not just for sexual harassment per existing law) where the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take appropriate corrective action.
Sexual Assault; Statute of Limitations: This new law expands the statute of limitations for filing a civil action for sexual assault to 10 years after the alleged assault or 3 years after the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered injury as a result of the assault, whichever is later.
Gender Composition of Boards of Directors: By the end of 2019, publicly held domestic or foreign corporations with principal executive offices in California must have a minimum of one female director on its board, and the number of female directors must increase again in 2021 depending on the size of the board.
As the current social climate continues to change and grow, we will likely see more ways the #MeToo Movement has changed HR to incorporate a more inclusive, safe environment for employees.
Practical steps you can take to make your company culture (and yourself) even better.
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