California Harassment Training Deadline Extended
The appropriate training must be completed by each employee within six months of assuming his or her job. Each employee must receive the appropriate training once every two years. The deadline for initial compliance with these requirements was originally Jan. 1, 2020, but under amendments enacted on Aug. 30, 2019, the initial harassment training deadline is extended to Jan. 1, 2021. Employers must provide the initial training after Jan. 1, 2019, in order to meet this deadline. The amendments enacted in 2019 also clarify that an employee who receives the training in 2019 does not have to receive the training again until two years thereafter.
The requirements will stay the same, Employer must provide:
- At least two hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees
- At least one hour of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all non-supervisory employees
- “Refresher training” every two years thereafter
- The applicable training within six months of hire for new employees or within six months of entering a supervisory position
Employers who provide harassment training that complies with the law in 2019 do not need to do so again until two years have passed from the date of training. For instance, if you trained all employees on July 14, 2019 (good work!), you would have until July 14, 2021, to retrain those same employees. However, if you hire new employees or promote any existing employees to supervisory positions, they need to receive the applicable training by January 1, 2021.
A Catch: Seasonal and Temporary Employees
As of Jan. 1, 2020, special requirements will apply for seasonal employees, temporary employees and any employees who are hired to work for less than six months. For these employees, employers must provide the required training within 30 calendar days after the employees’ hire dates or before the employees have worked 100 hours, whichever comes first.
Why is there a different timeline for seasonal and temporary employees?
Think of it this way: California wants everyone who holds a job in 2020 to be trained by Jan 1, 2021. To achieve that, the state needs to maintain the previous training timeline for seasonal and temporary employees; otherwise, someone who works only in the summer, or between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, may not receive training by the deadline.
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