California’s New Law RE: Sexual Harassment Training

California Government Code section 12950.1 requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide all supervisors with at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training within six months of the date he or she becomes a supervisor. Going forward, the supervisor must receive training at least once every two years.

AB2053 amends this section and requires applicable employers to comply with the current requirements, but to also train supervisors to prevent abusive conduct. The law defines “abusive conduct” as follows:

For purposes of this section, “abusive conduct” means conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests. Abusive conduct may include repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets, verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating, or humiliating, or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance. A single act shall not constitute abusive conduct, unless especially severe and egregious.

The new law does not provide details about how long the training should focus on “abusive conduct” prevention. However, employers should immediately start taking steps to implement training that complies with the new law.

It should be noted that the new law does not establish a cause of action for “abusive conduct” in the workplace. AB2053 does not define abusive conduct as being illegal. The primary reason is that making such conduct illegal is it would be difficult to differentiate between daily management or disciplinary actions versus malicious actions taken by a manager. However, there is potential for abusive conduct to eventually be established as a cause of action, so it is essential for employers to comply with the new law and start training their supervisors accordingly.

If you have questions regarding the new law or any other employment law matter, contact the knowledgeable lawyers at The Swenson Law Firm to schedule an appointment.

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