PUBLICATIONS

California Finalizes Supervisor Harassment Prevention Training Regulations

8/28/2007

In an April 2007 E-alert, we informed our clients that the California Legislature was in the process of clarifying the requirements for employers to provide training to supervisors on how to recognize and avoid sexual harassment in the workplace. On July 18, 2007, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission’s proposed regulations interpreting the requirements for sexual harassment training and regulation under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act were approved, and went into final effect on August 17, 2007, substantially unchanged. The final regulations implement legislative changes made earlier this year to California Government Code Section 12950.1, and provide clarification for employers on a number of requirements related to both the required coverage and the content of sexual harassment training for California supervisors. Among the matters cleared up by the legislative changes and the final regulations are the following:

The mandatory training requirement applies to all employers with 50 or more employees, whether or not those employees are within the State of California;

The mandatory training must be provided only to those supervisors and supervisory employees who work within the State of California;

The required training may be conducted in a live classroom environment or through other “interactive training and education,” which may include specialized internet-based educational programs. The regulations provide specific requirements for “e-learning” and “webinar” training to satisfy the statutory requirements.

The final regulations also specify what requirements must be met for a person to be a qualified “trainer” to provide the required training, as well as training content that must be included in any presentation.

The final regulations also discuss tracking and documentation requirements for the required training.

We encourage all clients with any supervisory employees in California to familiarize themselves with the now-finalized sexual harassment training requirements, and to set up a process to monitor completion of required supervisor training. In addition, employers with non-California managers who supervise California employees may find it prudent to have those managers receive the training as well.