Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

The Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Shall Include:

(A) Definitions of unlawful harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, where applicable. In addition to defining harassment covered by this section, an employer may provide a definition of and train about unlawful harassment on other bases enumerated in the FEHA, as specified at Government Code section 12940(j), and may discuss how harassment of an employee may encompass more than one basis. 

(B) FEHA and Title VII statutory provisions and case law principles concerning the prohibition against and the prevention of unlawful harassment, discrimination and retaliation in employment. 

(C) The types of conduct that constitute harassment. 

(D) Remedies available for harassment victims in civil actions; potential employer/individual exposure/liability. 

(E) Strategies to prevent harassment in the workplace. 

(F) Supervisors’ obligation to report harassment, discrimination, and retaliation of which they become aware. 

(G) Practical examples, such as factual scenarios taken from case law, news and media accounts, hypotheticals based on workplace situations and other sources, which illustrate harassment, discrimination and retaliation using training modalities such as role-plays, case studies and group discussions. 

(H) The limited confidentiality of the complaint process. 

(I) Resources for victims of unlawful harassment, such as to whom they should report any alleged harassment. 

(J) In addition to discussing strategies to prevent harassment, the training should also cover the steps necessary to take appropriate remedial measures to correct harassing behavior, which includes an employer’s obligation to conduct an effective workplace investigation of a harassment complaint. 

(K) Training on what to do if the supervisor is personally accused of harassment. 

(L) The essential elements of an anti-harassment policy and how to utilize it if a harassment complaint is filed. Either the employer’s policy or a sample policy shall be provided to the supervisors. Regardless of whether the employer’s policy is used as part of the training, the employer shall give each supervisor a copy of its anti-harassment policy and require each supervisor to read and to acknowledge receipt of that policy. 

(M) A review of the definition of “abusive conduct” as used in this context (and as defined by Government Code section 12950.1(i)(2)). The training should explain the negative effects that abusive conduct has on the victim of the conduct as well as others in the workplace. The discussion should also include information about the detrimental consequences of this conduct on employers – including a reduction in productivity and morale. The training should specifically discuss the elements of “abusive conduct,” including conduct undertaken with malice that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive and that is not related to an employer’s legitimate business interests (including performance standards). Examples of abusive conduct may include repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, 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. Finally, the training should emphasize that a single act shall not constitute abusive conduct unless the act is especially severe or egregious. While there is not a specific amount of time or ratio of the training that needs to be dedicated to the prevention of abusive conduct, it should be covered in a meaningful manner.