Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on January 17, 2019 and has been updated for accuracy on September 12, 2019.
Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.
In September 2018, former California Governor Jerry Brown approved Senate Bill 1343 (SB 1343) which expands the requirements for Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention training within the workplace.
New Requirements
Prior to SB 1343, California Assembly Bill 1825, Assembly Bill 2053, and State Bill 396, required employers with 50 or more employees to provide supervisors with sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training every two years. SB 1343 drops the minimum number of employees to 5 and adds a requirement for training nonsupervisory employees.
According to Senate Bill 778, passed on August 30, 2019 which expands the training deadline, “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.”
The changes made by SB 778 not only extends the due date to January 1, 2021, but also addresses concerns about supervisory employees and clarifies when temporary workers must be trained. Read about the changes here.
Providing Training
The bills also requires the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), “develop or obtain two online training courses on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. The course for nonsupervisory employees shall be one hour in length and the course for supervisory employees shall be two hours in length.” The department “expects to have such trainings available by late 2019,” according to a document provided by the DFEH. The online trainings are expected to be free for employers.
“In the interim period, DFEH is offering a sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention toolkit, including a sample sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training. Employers may use the training in conjunction with an eligible trainer to provide sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training,” according to the DFEH.
An eligible trainer qualified to conduct this training would be:
Attorneys who have been members of the bar of any state for at least two years and whose practice includes employment law under the Fair Employment and Housing Act or Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964;
Human resource professionals or harassment prevention consultants with at least two years of practical experience in:
Designing or conducting training on discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment prevention;
Responding to sexual harassment or other discrimination complaints;
Investigating sexual harassment complaints; or
Advising employers or employees about discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment prevention.
Law school, college, or university instructors with a post-graduate degree or California teaching credential and either 20 hours of instruction about employment law under the FEHA or Title VII.
Note, DFEH does not issue licenses nor certificates validating a person’s qualifications to teach sexual harassment prevention training classes.
Other training options include the online Anti-Harassment training Rancho Mesa offers to all of its clients’ supervisors and employees throughout the country in response to California’s Senate Bill 1343 (SB 1343) and Senate Bill 1300 (SB 1300).
We also can recommend Equal Parts Consulting to provide in-person supervisor and/or employee training to those in San Diego and Orange Counties. To receive a discounted rate, please let them know you are a Rancho Mesa Insurance client.
Rancho Mesa Insurance will continue to monitor training options as they become available.
For questions about this training requirement or to learn how to enroll your supervisors and employees, register for the “How to Enroll Supervisors and Employees in the Online Anti-Harassment Training” webinar or contact Rancho Mesa’s Client Services Department at (619) 438-6869.
Resources
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. "Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevenetion Training Information for Employers.”
https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/12/SB_1343_FAQs.pdf
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. “Sexual Harassment FAQs.”
https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/resources/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faqs/sexual-harassment-faqs/