As of 2006, employers in California must abide by Sexual Harassment law AB1825. AB1825 mandates that employers provide Harassment training to all supervisors in their organizations. This law has different requirements than most states and must be strictly adhered to.

All businesses with over 50 employees must provide sexual harassment training to their supervisors. The 50-employee threshold includes all part-time and full-time employees in an organization. For example, if a company has 40 part-time employees and only 10 full-time employees, then they still must train their supervisors under the guidelines. The definition of a supervisor under California law is extremely broad. It really constitutes anyone who makes a non-clerical judgment decision in the area of hiring, firing, promotion, recognition, and many other areas. To be safe, employers should error on the side of caution and use the broadest definition of supervisor.

Supervisors must be trained for at least two hours every two years. New supervisors must be trained within six months of hire. The training must consist of all aspects of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, including prevention, correction of a problem, and remedies available to a victim. The harassment training must be interactive – a lecture or video must be accompanied by question and answer sessions or interactive role playing. Employers should keep thorough records of all of the training to prove they are in compliance.

Adherence to this law is not a defense in itself against sexual harassment litigation, although it is one important step in legal protection. Employers should hire a expert consultant or purchase materials designed by experts to help them complete their training. In addition, seeking legal advice from a professional is always prudent.

Adhere to the guidelines in AB1825 to ensure compliance and to make your workplace a productive and safe place for your employees.

Charlie Bentson King is a writer and producer of training videos for TrainingABC. TrainingABC is a distributor of harassment video and sexual harassment video training programs.