DFEH Releases New Harassment/Discrimination Prevention Resources and Required Posters for California Employers

By Sutton Hague Law Corporation on August 3, 2020 in Legal Update
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Free Online Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

SB 1343 requires that all employers of 5 or more employees provide 1 hour of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to non-managerial employees and 2 hours of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to managerial employees once every two years. SB 1343 also requires the DFEH to develop or obtain 1-hour and 2-hour online training courses on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace and to post these courses on the DFEH website.

Currently, the training is available in English only. However, the DFEH expects to make the training available in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean in August 2020. This training is different from the Sample Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention Training identified in a previously released Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention Training Toolkit.

The DFEH online course is limited to one attendee at a time. If employers are interested training as a group, Sutton Hague Law Corporation provides webinar training for supervisors and non-supervisors in English and Spanish throughout the year. Visit our Events page, or call any of our offices if your company would like to arrange a private group webinar or on-site training for your employees by one of our attorneys.

Updated FAQs on Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

The DFEH issued two FAQs dated May 26, 2020 and June 2020 that contain nearly identical information.

  • The May 26, 2020 FAQ is for employees and is a much simpler FAQ to read.
  • However, the June 2020 Sexual Harassment Prevention Training FAQ is for employers. It contains three new FAQs based on SB 778 (extends the training deadline until January 1, 2021 for employees in workplaces of 5 or more employees) and SB 530 (extends the training deadline for seasonal and temporary workers).

New DFEH Posters

The DFEH released several updated materials in English and other languages. The following are links to the materials in English that covered California employers are required to post in the workplace:

  • Employment Discrimination: English Poster (PDF), which applies to all California employers.
  • Family Care and Medical Leave (CFRA Leave) and Pregnancy Disability Leave: English Poster (PDF), which applies to California businesses with 20 or more employees.
  • Transgender Rights in the Workplace (mandatory January 1, 2018): English Poster (PDF), which applies to California businesses with 5 or more employees.
  • Your Rights and Obligations as a Pregnant Employee. English Poster (PDF), which applies to California businesses with 5 or more employees.
  • Sexual Harassment Prevention: The Facts about Sexual Harassment. English Poster (PDF). English Fact Sheet (PDF). Either the poster or the fact sheet can be distributed to employees to meet legal requirements.

Combatting Hate Crimes During the Pandemic

FEHA and Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibit employers from discriminating against or harassing employees based on any protected characteristic (including a person’s actual or perceived race or national origin). The DFEH released this new poster due to reports of violence and harassment, particularly in the Asian-American community, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Threats or acts of violence based on a protected characteristic are illegal under the Ralph Civil Rights Act. Therefore, the DFEH released a poster on May 11, 2020 that employers may post in an effort to combat such actions. Available civil remedies include restraining orders to protect victims, monetary damages (medical expenses, property repair, lost wages, emotional distress, etc.), punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and civil penalties up to $25,000. Therefore, it is recommended that employers may include these posters in their workplace.

The poster is available on the DFEH website in 10 languages: English (PDF), Traditional Chinese (PDF), Simplified Chinese (PDF), Korean (PDF), Spanish (PDF), Tagalog (PDF), Vietnamese (PDF), Arabic (PDF), Hmong (PDF), and Punjabi (PDF).

More Information: This and selected other new California laws for employers will be discussed at our upcoming August 5, 2020 webinar entitled:  “What Employers Want to Know About™ Critical Employee Handbook Provisions for CA Employers.”  To attend this webinar visit our Events page at www.suttonhague.com (Events Page), or call any of our offices.