Sexual Harassment training in CA

Kymm · September 2005

This may be a really dumb question, but want to make sure... We have over 50 employees in our CA facility, so I know we need to do the 2 hour training for those supervisors... but do we need to give it to our supervisors in other states, or ONLY those working in California?

Gillian3 · September 2005

From a legal point of view, just California, but maybe your other supervisors need it as well?

Kymm · September 2005

Yes, I agree... I will do it for all supervisors.. it certainly couldn't hurt!! :-)
Thanks.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

Fortunately California law only applies to workers and worksites in California. Otherwise, the whole country would be teetering on the brink of madness.

System · September 2005

I agree with Gillian. I talked about this topic earlier this year with Mark Schickman, the California attorney who's in our new training video, "Stop Sexual Harassment: Interactive Training for California Supervisors." He said it only applies to employees in California.

[img src="/harass/img/stop_sign-125.jpg" align="right" border="1"]I'm going to make a shameless plug for the "Stop Sexual Harassment" video since I spent four months making it. xB-) It's an entertaining and fairly painless way to train your company's supervisors for the mandatory two hours.
[url]http://www.HRhero.com/CalHarass[/url]

And FYI, we'll soon come out with the 2006 version of our Danger Zones videos. It'll be 12 videos on 12 topics, including sexual harassment. It's designed for a one-hour training session on each topic, so it won't meet California's two-hour minimum. But the sexual harassment training is good for the other 49 states, and the other 11 videos are good everywhere.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com

CindyG · September 2005

We have only 4 employees in our CA office. Our corporate office is in Maine. I haven't read up yet on the new training rules for CA, but do I have to train our supervisor in CA for 2 hours or would my regular 1 hr training material be sufficient? I'm assuming there's a specific number of employees that you must have for this rule to apply?

Gillian3 · September 2005

If you have a supervisor in Ca. it applies.

E Wart · September 2005

Gillian3, I am sure you know more than I do about CA since you are located there. (But we do have a plant there.) It is my understanding that the training is for locations with 50 or more employees.... (and the web site/reference in the 4. James response also says 50 employees). I understood from what I had read that the 50 employees applied? Do you know which way it might be?
E Wart

Gillian3 · September 2005

I don't have my material with me so can't verify independently. The website isn't clear whether it is an employer with 50 employees or a location with 50. I'll see what I can figure out.

Gillian3 · September 2005

The regulation can be found in Section 12950.1 of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. It starts out by stating "By January 1, 2006, an employer having 50 or more employees shall provide -------". Since it certainly covers employers who have 50 or more employees in Ca., the only question are employers with more than 50 employees who have less than 50 in Ca. An attorney would have to speak to that, but it seems a bit strange that such an employer would be covered, since if they were, Ca. would be passing laws specifically affecting out of state employers, which is a bit different than passing laws covering Ca. employees and requiring out of state employers to comply. If that were intended, I think that the coverage would be "all employers". Anyway, the training must be for two hours every two years and within 6 months for a newly hired supervisor. The major difference in content from what I think out of state employers include would be that an employer must include information "about the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment". If you can get over that little jewel, it is probably just easier to do the training.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

"about the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment".

By that do you mean 'What avenues are open through which alleged victims may seek redress'?

For a remedy to be available to a victim, first you must have a victim, which is a legal term following the findings of guilt in which one is indeed determined to be guilty of sexual harassment. Not exactly the responsibility of an employer attempting to provide training. Remedies is another legal term. Does the law insist that the employer actually discuss legal remedies and court outcome mumbo-jumbo?

This is beginning to sound more like a 'cook book' of 'how to sue or challenge your employer and get rich in the process'.

My questions for you are, of course, rhetorical, but genuine.

Gillian3 · September 2005

The legislation presumes a "victim" to be a recipient of harassment who has filed a complaint with the company. The information requirement would be satisfied by informing participants of the federal and state enforcement agencies to which employees have access.

System · September 2005

CindyG,

I just spoke with Mark Schickman, the California lawyer who make our video Stop Sexual Harassment. He said the law applies to your California supervisors if you have 50 employees total anywhere in the country.

So it seems that if you have two ees in CA (one supervises the other) and 48 in ME, then you'd have to give two hours of sexual harassment training to all your California supervisors.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com

Shadowfax · September 2005

Just show the one segment twice.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

There you go again, shamelessly attempting to apply good sense and logic to CA law.

Gillian3 · September 2005

Actually, that is what I would do and separate the two presentations so that one is a reinforcement six months later.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

I apparently spoke to quickly. Our corporation with facilities in 50 states and everywhere overseas has made a decision that each and every facility in the U.S. will provide this same training to all managers and supervisors by March 31, 2006. Thankfully the program is being developed at the corporate level and the HR Managers will not have to craft it from scratch.

Should I start a thread about every 4 days on this subject like the S.A.V.E. threads threatening you all that this program will landslide over you all, slowly but surely?

Sexual Harassment training in CA

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