What a year it has been for sexual harassment claims. The biggest we have seen in year 20 years. It isn’t uncommon that a big news headline, edited marketing, and social media campaigns and someone else visible or powerful with allegations of sexual harassment leading to loss of employment.
Effective Jan 1st, 2018: SB396 Mandates:
Sexual Harassment Training To Include: Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sexual Orientation Which requires employers with 50 or more employees to add items to already mandated biennial supervisory training to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Interactive education and training content must include practical examples to address harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Furthermore, employers must also post a DFEH-developed poster regarding transgender rights.
How can it be that today we have so many issues, even after 2004’s AB 1825 mandated sexual harassment prevention training in California? Thereafter, it expanded to require training on bullying and abusive conduct in 2015 (AB 2053). Effective January 1, 2018, training must include gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation (SB 396).
With increased protections regarding Gender / Transgender employees under California law, sexual harassment training is aimed at increasing tolerance and understanding surrounding these issues will be significant!
