Pub. 7 2018-2019 Issue 1

24 San Diego Dealer California Dramatically Expands Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Requirements W rapping up a whirlwind legisla- tive session, California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed legislation that will significantly increase California employers’ obligations to provide sexual harassment prevention training—which may result in significant time and expense for California dealers. Senate Bill 1343 will soon require employers with five or more employees to provide sexual harassment prevention training to both supervisory and non-supervisory employees by 2020. Smaller Employers Now Covered As most California employers know, existing law generally requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide sexual harassment (and similar conduct) prevention training to supervisors once every two years. This training is often referred to as “AB 1825 training” in reference to the legislation that first mandated that training requirement. However, SB 1343 will greatly expand the number of California employers who are required to provide training. Rather than “50 or more employees,” the law will soon man- date training for employers with five or more employees. Such employers will now generally be required to provide the mandated training by January 1, 2020. Training Required For Both Supervisors And Non-Supervisors Perhaps even more significantly, SB 1343 will greatly expand the scope of employees towhom sexual harassment prevention trainingmust be provided. Whereas existing law requires two hours of training for supervisory employees only, SB 1343 extends a new training obligation to all other non-supervisory employees. Under the new law, sexual harassment prevention training must be provided as follows: • By January 1, 2020, an employer with five or more employees must provide at least two hours of training to all supervisory By Benjamin M. Ebbink, Of Counsel with Fisher Phillips The training and education shall also include practical examples aimed at instructing employees in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and shall be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.