Under current California law, mid-sized and larger employers with a presence in this state have to provide two hours of training to help supervisors avoid, spot and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The current law requires all people in supervisory or management positions to take this training.
However, according to a summary of a new law, an employer who retains five or more employees must provide this two-hour training to managers. Moreover, all employees must receive at least an hour of training to prevent sexual harassment. The initial training must be done by the end of this year, and new employees must receive it within six months.
For those who are interested, the actual text of the law can be found here.
Employers already have an obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace. Now, many more employers in the Fresno area will also have an obligation to provide appropriate education to their employees and managers, so it is clear as to what sort of conduct will or will not constitute sexual harassment.
It is not yet clear what will happen to those employers who do not provide this training or who are tardy in meeting what might be a new legal obligation for them. Suffice it to say, though, that a Fresno-area company that is not providing this training may be accused of falling short in other aspects of their responsibility to protect workers from sexual harassment. The lack of training, or the providing of inadequate training, could be a point to consider when a person claims they were the victim of sexual harassment based on a hostile work environment.