This Is the Year for Harassment Retraining

AB 1825 (California's sexual harassment training law) made national headlines when it passed in late 2004, mandating sexual harassment training for California supervisors every two years beginning in 2005. You made sure that you trained your managers and supervisors then, and tracked the two years for retraining in 2007. Now it's 2009 and time to ensure that your management team is updated. Your documentation of the training is done, all of your employees receive a copy of your anti-harassment policy and a sexual harassment information sheet at least once a year, your new employees receive that information upon hire, and you're in great shape. Are you?

• 50 or More Employees. AB 1825 applies only to organizations that regularly employ 50 or more employees or regularly "receive the services of" 50 or more persons. (Independent contractors and temps are included in the 50+ number.)
• Two Hours of Training Every Two Years. The deadline for the first round of AB 1825 training was December 31, 2005. Thereafter, employers must provide two hours of sexual harassment training to each supervisory employee, every two years.
• New Hires and Promotions. New supervisory employees must be trained within six months of their assumption of a supervisory position, and thereafter, every two years.
• High Quality Training Required. The training mandated by California's AB 1825 must be of a high quality, conducted via "classroom or other effective interactive training" and must include the following topics:
• Information and practical guidance regarding federal and state statutory laws about sexual harassment.
• Information about the correction of sexual harassment and the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment.
• Practical examples aimed at instructing supervisors in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Employers can choose either of the following methods or a combination of the two methods to track compliance. Individual Tracking: An employer may track its training requirement for each supervisory employee, measured two years from the date of completion of the last training of the individual supervisor. For example, a supervisor trained February 15, 2007 must be trained by February 14, 2009. Training Year Tracking: An employer may designate a "training year" in which it trains some or all of its supervisory employees and thereafter must again retrain these supervisors by the end of the next "training year," two years later. For example, a supervisor trained February 15, 2007 must be trained by the end of 2009.

According to the California Chamber of Commerce, for newly hired or promoted supervisors who receive training within six months of assuming their supervisory positions and that training falls in a different training year, the employer may include them in the next group training year, even if that occurs sooner than two years. An employer shall not extend the training year for the new supervisors beyond the initial two year training year. As such, with the training year method, assume that an employer trained all of its supervisors in 2007 and sets 2009 as the next training year. If a new supervisor is trained in 2008 and the employer wants to include the new supervisor in its training year, the new supervisor would need to be trained in 2009 with the employer's other supervisors.

Why This Training Is Important

New Harassment Laws: Since 2007, there have been new discrimination laws and court interpretations of the laws. Updated training ensures that managers are up-to-date with the latest.

Failure to Comply Opens the Door to Harassment Lawsuits. A claim that an employer failed to provide AB 1825-mandated sexual harassment training does not automatically result in the liability of an employer for harassment. Plaintiffs will argue, however, that the failure to meet the training mandates is evidence of an employer's failure to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

We're here to help.

ThinkHR provides practical human resources solutions to your employee issues, including interactive, onsite AB 1825-compliant training. We do not provide legal advice, and you may wish to consult with your legal counsel as well as your benefits broker before implementing any changes to your existing policies or benefits.

If you would like more information or need assistance, please contact the ThinkHR Hotline.

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Sonoma County Employment Opportunities

Sonoma County Human Resources offers a wide range of employment opportunities and is continually seeking enthusiastic and qualified candidates to fill several job positions.

Attached is our weekly listing for your staff or for public posting. Please direct any applicants or job seekers to our website at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org to obtain additional information or to apply on line. We appreciate your assistance and cooperation.

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