Harassment Training Requirements in California

Harassment is an issue that is not taken lightly by the government of California. Recognizing that these issues have lasting effects on the workplace, the California government has required all companies in the sunny state to conduct a harassment prevention training to their employees.

All companies must comply with the harassment training requirements in California, or they might face the consequences of their non-compliance. Recently, a new section was added to ensure that no one will be left behind in the issues that are harassment.

Harassment Training Requirements in California

The harassment training requirements in California is stipulated in Government Code12950.1. Below are some of the requirements stated in the law:

• All companies with more than 50 employees must conduct this training to all supervisors within six months after they were hired or promoted. The 50 people headcount include both full time and part-time employees.
• The sexual harassment training and education must be provided by employers to each supervisory employee once in two years.
• The training must include a discussion about the federal and statutory provisions about sexual harassment prevention and correction and the remedies that victims can avail.
• The training must also include practical examples about the following topics: harassment prevention, discrimination and retaliation. This will give supervisors further knowledge on how to handle these kinds of situations.
• The training must last for at least 2 hours. It can be an instructor-led training or an online course. Both are deemed valid as long as the training will be interactive.

Harassment Prevention Training Program: A New Requirement

Last October 15, 2017, the Senate Bill 396 was signed by Governor Brown putting into law the additional requirement for all companies to conduct training on the prohibition of harassment based on gender identity, gender orientation and gender expression.

The law aims to highlight these characteristics as part of the required anti-harassment training to help prevent the harassment of the LGBT employees in the workplace.

The training program must include the following:

• Definition of what is gender identity, gender orientation, gender expression and other related terms.
• Practical examples of how harassment occurs based on these concepts

The additional component of the training was useful since last January 1, 2018. The Californian Government shall incorporate the harassment prevention training into the 80 hours of training required for all new supervisory employees pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19995.4.

If employers do not require to the required harassment prevention training, the State can give an order to the employer requiring them to comply to the stated requirements.

Harassment and its Forms

For California to make a law on harassment prevention in the workplace would mean that this issue had been a cause of alarm, however, what is harassment?

Harassment in the workplace is when employees feel that they are not being treated well, isolated and belittled in their working environment. It can also include discrimination because of one’s color, race, religion, gender, disabilities, etc.

Harassment in the workplace can come from colleagues, associates, supervisors and other bosses. It can be verbal or physical. The verbal form of harassment can be something that we usually oversee because we might think that it is harmless. Verbal harassment includes inappropriate jokes, mockery, slurs and racist remarks among others.

Physical harassment is something that we recognize more. It is more severe and can cause physical injuries. Some forms include stalking, physical assault or sexual harassment.

Harassment Prevention Training Programs: Two Options

• Online Harassment Training Program.  The government of California is allowing companies to conduct online harassment training programs. This is an opportunity that companies can take advantage of especially that taking the online course can be less disruptive to the companies’ operations.
• Instructor-Led Training Program.  Another option that the Californian government is allowing is the Instructor-led Training. Companies can invite an instructor who has extensive knowledge about the subject, so he/she can share his/her expertise to the employees of the company.

Harassment can cause a long-lasting effect on its recipients. For an individual, it can cause low morale, discomfort and trauma. It can even lead to serious mental health problems.

Thus, it would be best to have anti-harassment policies in place. After all, it will be the companies who will reap the benefits of anti-harassment policies. With these policies in place, your employees will be aware of the things that they should not be doing to their co-workers.

In a place as diverse as the workplace, people must learn to accept each one’s uniqueness to prevent harassment. Harassment can cause a hostile environment for people leading them to be unproductive. Their unproductivity can cause harmful effects to your company.

Harassment prevention training in California is meant to prevent this situation from happening. Thus, it is vital that every company must comply with these training requirements. At the end of the day, it will still be your company who will benefit the most.