By Carrie B. Cherveny

California has extended the deadline for employers with five or more employees to provide the legally required harassment prevention training by one year—from January 1, 2020 until January 1, 2021.

Provisions include:

  • For new employees (no changes):
    • New nonsupervisory employees shall be provided training within six months of hire.
    • New supervisory employees shall be provided training within six months of the assumption of a supervisory position.

An employer may provide this training in conjunction with other training provided to the employees. The training may be completed by employees individually or as part of a group presentation, and may be completed in shorter segments, as long as the applicable hourly total requirement is met.

  • For ongoing employees: By January 1, 2021 (new deadline extended from January 1, 2020), an employer having five or more employees shall provide at least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to:
    1. all supervisory employees and
    2. at least one hour of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all nonsupervisory employees in California.

Thereafter, each employer covered by this section shall provide sexual harassment training and education to each employee in California once every two years.

Common questions:

  • What if I already provided training?
    An employer who has provided this training and education to an employee in 2019 is not required to provide refresher training and education again until 2021.
  • What about my seasonal and temporary workers?
    Beginning January 1, 2020, for seasonal, temporary, or other employees hired to work for less than six months, an employer shall provide training within 30 calendar days after the hire date or within 100 hours worked, whichever occurs first. In the case of a temporary employee employed by a temporary services employer, the training shall be provided by the temporary services employer, not the client.

Under FEHA, by the new deadline (for ongoing employees) of January 1, 2021, employers with five or more employees must provide at least:

  • One hour of classroom or other effective interactive training and education on sexual harassment to all non-supervisory employees.
  • Two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education on sexual harassment to all supervisory employees.

Covered employers must provide this training and education to each employee in California once every two years and within six months of assuming a supervisory or non-supervisory position.

The training must be effective and interactive. It must include:

  • Questions that assess learning..
  • Skill-building activities that assess the supervisor’s application and understanding of the content learned.
  • Several hypothetical scenarios about harassment, each with one or more discussion questions.

Effective and interactive training includes:

  • Pre- or post-training quizzes or tests.
  • Small group discussion questions.
  • Discussion questions that accompany hypothetical fact scenarios.

Use of brief scenarios discussed in small groups or by the entire group, or any other learning activity geared towards ensuring interactive participation as well as the ability to apply what is learned to the supervisor’s work environment.

Qualified Trainers and Educators

A qualified individual with experience in training supervisors about harassment, discrimination, and retaliation must conduct the training. Additionally, the training addressing harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation must be presented by a trainer or educator with knowledge and expertise in those areas.

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