How California AB 1825 Prevents Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Friday, March 9, 2012

Sexual Harassment on workplace
Sexual harassment in the workplace still remains a significant problem in the United States. In 2011 alone, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received a total of 28,535 sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit employers, supervisors, managers, and co-workers to sexually harass employees. According to provisions of the said laws, non-complying businesses may be subjected to pay victims with compensatory damages and punitive damages.

According to FEHA sexual harassment in employment practices include:

•    Unwanted sexual advances
•    Providing employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors
•    Making sexual gestures or displaying sexually suggestive objects like pictures or posters
•    Making sexual comments

In California, in an aim to address cases of sexual harassment, the State enacted an assembly bill imploring employers to conduct sexual harassment management training to company supervisors and managers. The bill, Assembly Bill 1825, requires California-based employers to conduct at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years.

California employers may conduct sexual harassment prevention seminars through classroom training, online seminars or “webinars,” or computer-assisted seminars. AB 1825 states that professionals who can be qualified to give seminars are lawyers, human resources professionals, and professors.

AB 1825 also requires California employers to:

•    Create and implement anti-sexual harassment company policies
•    Inform employees about their rights under anti-sexual harassment laws by distributing information brochures and posting Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) anti-harassment posters

Employers who want to legally and carefully abide by 1825 may consult with employment law attorneys who are experienced in handling sexual harassment cases. It is advisable for California employers to understand their obligations under employment laws to avoid impeding the rights of workers, and one effective way of doing this is to consult with an expert employment lawyer.

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