Sexual harassment claims are on the rise, comprising 22% of all cases filed with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. Employers must protect themselves and their employees from hostile work environments that could lead to harassment by offering regular training on sexual harassment prevention. While wise employers have been voluntarily providing this kind of training for years, the law now mandates that it be regularly provided.
California employers with 50 or more employees are, as of January 1, 2006, required to provide sexual harassment training for all supervisors. The new law, Assembly Bill 1825, also states that all supervisory employees must complete a minimum of two hours of training once every two years.
"A supervisor is defined as an individual with the authority to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or the responsibility to direct them, or adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend that action…" (Fair Employment and Housing Act, Cal. Code § 12926(r).)
According to AB 1825, the training for supervisors must consist of “classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment.”
California employers who have 50 or more employees, regardless of whether they all work in California, are required to be in compliance with AB 1825. The law applies to all entities that regularly have 50 or more workers, whether they work as employees or independent contractors or venders. An employee is defined as regularly working in California during 20 consecutive weeks of the current or preceding calendar year, including both full- and part-time employees.
While these are the technicalities of the law, it would be prudent for employers with fewer than 50 employees to provide regular harassment and discrimination training as well. In addition, although the law states only that all supervisors are required to receive regular sexual harassment training, it would be wise for all employers to consider some type of ongoing training for all employees as well.
Companies that do not offer sexual harassment training fail to comply with the law. In addition, they leave themselves open to costly law suits. Under California law, both supervisors and employees can be held personally liable for sexual harassment. Companies can also be held liable for harassment by their supervisors.
Sexual harassment is not wrong because it's illegal. It is illegal because it's wrong. It can create a hostile work environment where employees do not feel safe or treated with respect. It impedes productivity, teamwork, and morale which often results in increased turnover, damaged company reputation, and ultimately decreased sales and revenues. In addition, harassment can be quite costly for its victims not only psychologically and physically but also professionally. Further, it can be costly for convicted harassers, potentially affecting their family, their reputation, and their job prospects. Sexual harassment hurts everyone.
Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. is prepared to meet your company's needs for sexual harassment training by providing world-class, instructor-led courses. The training sessions allow for maximum interaction between employees and instructors, thereby ensuring that your company clearly meets the requirements set forth by Assembly Bill 1825.
Biddle Consulting Group's trainers are gifted communicators who meet AB 1825 standards, requiring them to be California licensed attorneys, human resource professionals, or psychologists with "knowledge and practical expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation."
While there are many training options on the market, there are several clear advantages to having a dynamic, live trainer from Biddle Consulting Group, Inc., including:
- All supervisors, and the company as a whole, are quickly brought into compliance with AB 1825.
- Lively interaction between employees and the trainer increases retention of key information.
- Trainer can adapt the content and format of the training to the specific needs of the company and its employees.
- Record keeping and tracking of employee training is much easier for human resource personnel.
BCG's training program includes pre- and post-training tests to determine employee understanding, skits depicting typical workplace scenarios and how to handle them, and question and answer sessions enabling employees to clarify and understand how the law specifically relates to their role and work environment. For an additional fee, BCG can also video tape the training session. This tape can then be viewed by supervisors that were unable to attend the training program.
BCG's interactive workshop will:
- Build on your understanding of harassment
- Clear up common misconceptions about what constitutes sexual harassment
- Explain the responsibilities of the supervisor
- Teach ways to prevent, document, investigate, and correct sexual harassment
- Describe how to provide remedies for victims
- Provide system-wide interventions
In an enjoyable and respectful manner, BCG's trainers will enable your company to comply with AB 1825. Biddle Consulting Group can also help protect your company from costly litigation.
AB 1825 expressly states that meeting the requirements of a minimum threshold of training "should not discourage any employer from providing for longer, more frequent, or more elaborate training and education regarding workplace harassment or other forms of unlawful discrimination in order to meet its obligations to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent and correct harassment and discrimination." (Italics added)
In a court case, it is possible that a defense lawyer could suggest that, in merely meeting the minimum threshold, an employer did not take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment. For this reason, employers may want to consider offering additional, more extensive training to all supervisors as well as provide some form of training to all employees.
Biddle Consulting Group can help your company to go the distance in educating your employees on the topic of sexual harassment. To enable you to take all reasonable steps, we can:
- Train all employees in harassment in at least one hour
- Provide on-going training to supervisors every two years
- Ensure that training content is consistent with AB 1825
- Ensure that training is conducted by an expert as specified in AB 1825
- Require that all employees sign the sexual harassment policy
- Refer victims to sources for remedies
For more information, needs analysis, or cost consultation, please call (800) 999-0438 ext. 113 or email staff@biddle.com
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