California Expanded Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
HOT OFF THE PRESS!
Last year, California lawmakers enacted a requirement that all employers with five or more employees would need to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees by January 1, 2020. However, in response to outcry from the business community, Governor Newsom signed into effect a law this past Friday extending the deadline for employers to provide the newly required sexual harassment prevention training to January 1, 2021.
While you're off the hook for the year-end scramble, don't forget to complete your training before the new deadline.
HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING CONFUSION
The extension of the California harassment prevention training requirement has had everyone scrambling for clarification.
What we can glean from employment attorney newsletters so far is:
The extension has given the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) more time to prepare their promised training materials. Watch for these.
Supervisors in companies with 50 or more employees are still on their regular schedule for compliance training every two years; if they were trained in 2018 they don't have to be retrained in 2019 (but will in 2020).
Smaller employers (5 or more employees) now have until 01/01/2021 to train all employees.
Employees and supervisors trained in 2019 will not need to be retrained until 2021.
Beginning January 1, 2020, seasonal, temporary and other employees hired to work for less than six months will need to be trained within of 30 calendar days of hire or within 100 hours worked, whichever is earlier. If they're employed by a temporary agency, the agency is responsible for the training.
New or newly promoted supervisors must still be trained within six months of assuming a supervisory position.
New non supervisory employees must be trained within six months of hire.
We can probably assume that we'll see more and more online training offerings that meet California compliance requirements.
Effective January 1, 2019, California made a substantial change to mandatory sexual harassment prevention training. Now employers with five or more employees must provide this training to all supervisors and employees by January 1, 2020.
In addition to supervisors receiving two hours of sexual harassment prevention training, non-supervisory employees must receive one hour of sexual harassment prevention training. Training must take place within six months of hire or promotion and every two years thereafter. All employees and new hires must receive training in 2019 to be compliant by January 1, 2020.
Below is an FAQ link from the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing:
https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/resources/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faqs/sexual-harassment-faqs/
As one of our valued partners, Peters & Milam Insurance Services can provide you with an online portal for this training AT NO COST. If you would like to participate, or have questions please reach out to your Account Manager, call us at (805) 687 - 3225, or email us at info@petersmilam.com.
As always, if you have any questions or if we can help in any way, please reach out!
Call us at (805) 687 - 3225, or send us an email at info@petersmilam.com. We can't wait to hear from you!
-Dave Peters & Steve Milam
