As businesses and government grapple with the #MeToo movement, politicians in California have introduced a litany of new bills to try to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Before the Legislature are the following proposed new laws:

Senate Bill 1343: This bill seeks to supplement the present requirement that employers with 50 or more employees provide sexual harassment training to supervisors within six months of assumption of their supervisory role and every two years thereafter. The proposed legislation would require employers with 5 or more employees provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all employees by January 1, 2020 and every two years thereafter. The proposed law would require the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) to develop a two-hour video to be made available for training, or as an alternative, employers may also develop their own two-hour training under the bill.

Assembly Bill 1867: To assure retention of business records related to employee complaints of sexual harassment, this Assembly Bill would require employers with 50 or more employees to maintain an employee complaint of sexual harassment for ten years following the date the complaint is filed. The DFEH would be authorized to seek orders requiring employers to comply with the proposed law.

Assembly Bill 2366: This proposed bill would amend Labor Code sections that currently bars employers from discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking for requesting or
taking related leave. At present, employers with 25 or more employees must accommodate requests for leaves that are related to such victims and would extend these same protections to employees who are victims of sexual harassment and to immediate family members of the victims who take time off from work to provide assistance to victims who seek relief or counseling as a result of the abuse.

It is anticipated that many of these bills will reach the Governor’s desk by the end of the year. It is in the best interests of virtually every employer to be proactive when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace. If you have not done a
legal audit of your training, reporting and record-keeping with regard to employee complaints, it is time to contact your legal counsel to avoid costly claims of noncompliance with the plethora of laws, and proposed laws, that address harassment
and discrimination in the workplace.

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.