Bill Expanding Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Introduced

california capitol building

A California State Senator wants to expand the training employees get on workplace sexual harassment prevention with a new bill introduced to the legislature. 

State Senator Holly Mitchell says SB 1343 would provide training to more California workers on preventing workplace sexual harassment.

"We thought it was important to try and expand access to this information to as many Californian workers as possible. SB 1343 would require any California employer of five employees or more to provide such training," Mitchell said. 

The training would also include lessons for workers on how to spot harassment and who they should contact if they've been victimized. 

Current California law only requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors. Mitchell says that training can be incredibly effective. 

"Training needs to be targeted to the specific nature of the employment. I do believe that training and providing information is really important to changing workplace culture." 

According to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, between 2005 and 2015, the agency received more than 85,000 sexual harassment complaints. 

Mitchell says the bill would also detail how often employees and employers would need to take the training.

"The bill really from my expectations, is establishing a floor, a minimum expectation of training around every two years, and access to video training if necessary." 

Mitchell introduced the bill along with California Controller Betty Yee, the state's highest-ranking female elected officials. Movements like the #MeToo and Times Up movements that have drawn attention to the ongoing problems with sexual harassment in all types of jobs. 

Photo: Getty Images


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