Learn more about California State’s inaugural inception of mandatory ethics training, with the AB1825 law. Could this be the starting point of mandatory compliance programs?
AB1825 is the code name for the State of California’s sexual harassment training law, as of January 2006. California is the first state to make sexual harassment training mandatory – which will certainly be the catalyst for more states to follow. The premise of AB1825 is that sexual harassment awareness has simply not been enough to continually follow through with its prevention. Therefore, by law, AB1825 sexual harassment training requires that companies train their supervisors every two years.
AB1825 applies both to companies employing a minimum of 50 employees in the state of California, or engaged in business with a California firm that employees a minimum of 50 employees.
The law states that training must be performed either through a classroom or online training method, while being conducted by a trainer that possesses the adequate experience to deliver the training. Simply having any employee deliver the training is not sufficient to comply with the AB1825 statutory requirements, as he or she should have previous experience in preventing harassment. Typically, outside trainers or ethics training companies are called upon to deliver the AB1825 training, whether it be instructor-led or online. California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act deems it unlawful for employers to fail to take these necessary steps toward mandatory AB1825 training.
It is up to the employer to create a “roadmap” of how AB1825 training is to take place. This includes an individual or service that will conduct the training, a running list of trainees and their due dates for the next training implementation, the 2-hour minimum training course itself – and all of its adequate components, and all necessary records that prove that the training has taken place for each participant.
While the implementation of AB1825 training does not provide amnesty in court hearings for sexual harassment suits – it does prove that the employer has complied with California state law, and has followed the proper procedures in administering an effective AB1825 training program. Failure to comply with the training will prove to be in the plaintiff’s benefit during a hearing.
Tags: ab1825, harassment
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