2019 Bills Pertaining to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
| Publication year | 2019 |
| Author | By Cindy Elkins |
By Cindy Elkins
Cynthia Elkins is the principal of Elkins Employment Law, founded in 1998, a firm devoted to the representation and defense of employers in all aspects of their employment-law and human resource legal concerns, Prior to starting her own practice, Cynthia held several positions with employment law firms.
This time of year sees not only the changing of the seasons (as much as we have seasons in California), but this time of year is when we see the many new pieces of legislation that have been signed into law. Many of the new laws were the result of the much publicized #MeToo movement.
Below is a brief overview of some of the bills pertaining to these issues. These laws became effective January 1, 2019, unless otherwise noted.
S.B. 1343: Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles)1
As of January 1, 2019, California employers with five or more employees (which includes seasonal and temporary employees - see below) must provide harassment prevention training to all employees -supervisory and non-supervisory - by 2020 and thereafter. This new law is in stark contrast to the previous law that required employers with 50 or more employees to conduct prevention training to supervisory employees once every two years. (A.B. 1825)
Under the new law, sexual harassment prevention training must be provided as follows:
- By January 1, 2020, an employer with five or more employees must provide at least two hours of training to all supervisory employees in California within six months of their assumption of a position.
- By January 1, 2020, an employer with five or more employees must provide at least one hour of training to all non-supervisory employees in California within six months of their assumption of a position.
- After January 1, 2020, covered employers must provide the required training to each employee in California once every two years.
The new law specifies that an employer who has provided the training to an employee after January 1, 2019 is not required to provide training again by the January 1, 2020 deadline. The new law also provides that the training may be completed by employees individually or as part of a group presentation and may even be completed in shorter segments as long as the total hourly requirement is met.
Special Rules For Seasonal, Temporary And Agricultural Employees
S.B. 1343 has some special provisions that apply to seasonal and temporary employers and employees. Beginning January 1, 2020 seasonal and temporary employees, or any employee that is hired to work for less than six months, shall be provided the required training within 30 calendar days after the date of hire, or within 100 hours worked, whichever occurs first.
In the case of a temporary employee employed by a temporary services provider to perform services for clients, S.B. 1343 specifies that the training shall be provided by the temporary services employer, not the client.
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