Did you know that businesses in California with five or more employees are required to provide their employees with sexual harassment and abusive conduct training every two years? This is a fairly new California law (Government Code section 12950.1) that went into effect on September 28, 2020. It was put into place to ensure that California employees are aware of what is, and what isn’t, acceptable conduct in the workplace in an effort to prevent workplace harassment and abuse.
Supervisory employees are required to complete at least two hours of training every two years, while non-supervisory employees must complete at least one hour of training. Employers are solely responsible for providing the training, as well as for allowing their employees to complete the training during their working hours. In other words, an employer cannot require their employees to complete the training on their own (unpaid) time.
The training must be “effective interactive training,” according to California law. An employer cannot simply hand their employees a handbook or printout and require that they read it. Rather, the training needs to be conducted by an expert in workplace sexual harassment and abusive conduct.
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) oversees this requirement, but in addition, some insurance companies are beginning to request documentation that the training has been completed according to CRD guidelines.
As a company that specializes in workplace compliance issues, DTS can help your small business satisfy the requirements of this California law. We can come to your place of business and conduct sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training, for both your supervisors and your non-supervisory employees. If you do not have a room at your workplace that is suitable to serve as a classroom for such a training session, you can either come to the DTS office for the training or we can arrange to hold it in another nearby location.
At the conclusion of the training, we will provide your business with the certificates of completion for each employee that are necessary to prove that your business is in compliance with the law. We will also provide you with any written materials that were used during the training. You must keep these documents on file at your place of business for two years.
Unlike other sexual harassment trainings offered for California companies, DTS offers in-person training, rather than an online course. By providing your employees in-person training, you can be sure that all of your employees complete the training by the deadline and ensure that your business is in compliance with both the CRD and your insurance company’s requirements.
Keeping up with all of the regulations for employers in California can feel burdensome—especially if you don’t have a dedicated human resources department at your place of business. DTS is here to help! We can help ensure your small business is in compliance with entities such as the Civil Rights Department and Cal/OSHA, as well as with your insurance company. Contact us today for more information or to schedule your sexual harassment and abusive conduct training.