Are you in compliance? California Sexual Harassment Law AB 1825
I was recently speaking at a business network meeting when a business owner asked me if he had to worry about California’s new Sexual Harassment law, AB1825. This businesswoman runs her business with 18 full-time employees, 20 part-time employees, 8 temporary workers, and 5 sales subcontractors located in multiple states.
Requirements: 50 + employees
At first glance, it appears that you do not meet the 50+ employee requirement that determines whether you must train your supervisors. However, a closer look at the law reveals that temporary service workers and independent contractors, regardless of where they are located, are included in the total employee count.
Requirements: Training should cover all aspects of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
Training must address retaliation and: harassment and discrimination based on sex, race/color, religion, age, and national origin. Previous trainings typically did not include these areas.
Another business owner wanted to know whether or not he could continue training in the same way as the year before.
Requirements: A system in place to track and document employee engagement and compliance
The answer is maybe yes, maybe no. Whether the training included all forms of harassment and discrimination Y tracked employee engagement throughout the training (not just through sign-in/sign-out sheets) Y assessed their understanding of the material Y you can provide evidence, then yes, continue training as in previous years.
One business owner, one on a very tight budget, commented “it’s good that I only have to train 5 supervisors, because I can’t afford to train more.”
Requirements: Companies must provide a workplace free of harassment for all
With this in mind, how harassment-free will the workplace be if this owner only trains supervisors? . And if the employee files a claim, will the money saved by training supervisors alone be enough to pay for attorneys, lost production time, and/or punitive damages? Probably not.
conclusion:
Regardless of the number of employees, the location of the employees, or previous training, employers must protect their company from claims of harassment and discrimination and comply with the law. Make sure your company is protected by training all employees in the prevention of harassment and discrimination.
