Women's Rights Employment Law Blog: Updating Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

San Diego Business Journal discusses five steps to updating Sexual Harassment Prevention Training.

Educating Supervisors Is Key to Complying With State Law AB1825
Question: As a small business, do I have to worry about the new sexual harassment training laws? What should I do to make sure my company is compliant?

Answer: Every small business runs the risk of sexual harassment claims without proper training of its employees. Although California state law AB1825 only requires supervisor sexual harassment training for companies with at least 50 employees, there are things you can do to protect your business and your personnel regardless of your company’s size.

For starters, distribute and enforce your company’s anti-harassment and Equal Employment Opportunities policies, as well as your complaint-resolution process.

Make sure supervisors know how to respond to employee complaints.

Explain to supervisors the unique aspects of California harassment law, which places greater responsibility on their actions and inactions. Make sure they understand about both types of sexual harassment (quid pro quo and hostile work environment).

Remind supervisors not to be reluctant to discipline, hire or fire as appropriate. They do themselves and their employees a disservice if they shy away from effective managerial duties for fear of violating the law.

If your business has 50 or more employees, you must provide AB1825 sexual harassment training. Here is a list of things you must do in order to be compliant under AB1825:

1. Train supervisors on sexual harassment prevention.

“Supervisor” means any individual having authority to hire, transfer, suspend, promote, discharge, assign, reward, discipline, etc. New supervisors must be trained within six months.

2. Use qualified trainers.

There are three types: An instructional designer who has expertise in current instructional practices, a qualified trainer who has education and training or substantial experience to lead seminars, and a subject matter expert who has legal education coupled with practical training experience in harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention.

In order to comply, companies must use trainers with all three skills: The training must be designed by an experienced designer and must be conducted by a qualified trainer. A subject matter expert who is qualified and available to answer participants’ questions should review the course content.