California recently passed a law which requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide at least two hours of classroom or other interactive sexual harassment training. Employers must provide this interactive sexual harassment training to all employees who were supervisors on or before January 1, 2005, and the training must be completed before January 1, 2006. The new California law further requires that any new supervisory employees (employees who become a supervisor after January 1, 2005) receive interactive sexual harassment training within six months of the date they were hired or the date they were promoted to a supervisory position. Further, after January 1, 2006, the new law requires that once every two years covered employers must provide interactive sexual harassment training and education to all supervisors.
Review of the new law and its legislative history indicates that the State of California intends for the law to apply to all employers who have 50 or more employees, wherever located, provided that the employer has at least one supervisor located in the State of California. However, since the law has only recently been enacted, it is unclear whether it applies to all California employers or whether it only applies to those employers who have 50 or more employees in the State of California.
Employers who are subject to the new law must also be careful to provide supervisory employees in California training that satisfies the law’s requirements. The new law provides specific guidelines on what information the training must provide, how long the training must be and how the training must be delivered to supervisors. These guidelines include requirements that the supervisory employees be specifically instructed on the prohibition against, and the prevention and correction of, sexual harassment and the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment situations. Further, the law requires that supervisors be provided with practical examples and interactive hypotheticals so that they are aware of and understand how to deal with and handle complaints of harassment they may receive from employees.
Winthrop & Weinstine routinely provides interactive sexual harassment training to both supervisory and nonsupervisory employees. Interested employers should contact Winthrop & Weinstine for assistance in completing and meeting the California training requirements. If you would like to set up a meeting to discuss your specific needs and questions, please contact Laura Pfeiffer at 612.604.6685, lpfeiffer@winthrop.com; Mark Pihart at 612.604.6623, mpihart@winthrop.com; or Tony Moch at 612.604.6671, amoch@winthrop.com.
This information is intended to provide you with up-to-date information on changes to California law. It is a general summary and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice.