Harassment Prevention Training has been a large topic of conversation this year, as the new legislation required more than 300,000 business comply with the new law. Given the large amount of employers affected along with the short timeline for compliance a new amendment to the bill recently passed to extend the deadline for complying with the law. The new dates for compliance are meant to make sure that employers have more than enough time to put a solution in place and to clear up additional confusions on the original bill. Below are some key points of what the law is, what the new deadlines are, and best practices for compliance.
What is the new SB 1343 Harassment Training Law?
SB 1343 is a senate bill that expanded upon AB 1825 which originally was designed to make a mandatory harassment training for managers of businesses with 50 or more employees. In response to #Metoo movement and other publicized concerns, SB 1343 has expanded this law to include training for all employees as well for companies with 5 or more employees. All California employers with 5 or more employees must comply to this law which mandates 1 hour of training for employees and 2 hours of training for managers. All employees must be trained including part time, seasonal, and interns as well. Companies are expected to be audited on this and at risk if not in compliance.
When does it go into effect?
Originally this law was set to have already been in effect. However, the law has been recently revised to come into effect on January 1st 2020 for all new hires starting after January 1st. Any full or part time employees must be trained within 6 months of hire, whereas any seasonal employee or short term intern must be trained within 30 days of hire or 100 hours worked (whichever comes first). Existing staff hired prior to January 1st will have to complete training by January 1st 2021.
What are my options?
There are many options out there on how to comply with this new training law. They can include in-house training, webinar training, video training, outsourced HR training, or the most common virtual learning management system training online. The key is to make sure that any offered training meets the new requirements of the law including but not limited to Record Keeping Requirements and Interactivity Requirements. It is suggested to use a knowledgeable and proven vendor to ensure that your selected option meets all the requirements.
Since the #Metoo movement started sexual harassment filings to the EEOC had a 13.6% increase from 2017 to 2018. Should you wish to review your options and make sure your business is protected, you can reach out to EVCO Insurance Services to learn more. You can reach out to Brian Allen via email at brian@evcoinsurance.com or by phone at (925) 478-2223.