In a Labor Day weekend news dump, on Friday, August 30, 2019 California Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law SB 778, which amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Under the new amendment, employers with five or more employees will be required to train all employees on the prevention of sexual harassment by January 1, 2021 (rather than January 1, 2020). Additionally, employers who provide this training during calendar 2019 will not have to do so again until two years later.

While SB 778 provides some additional time for employers to provide training to their California workforce, organizations should still be cautious: the existing requirement remains in effect that anti-harassment training be provided to non-supervisory “new hires” within six months of hire and to supervisory employees within six months of assumption of a supervisory position. Therefore, it is to every employer’s advantage to train all of its employees as soon as possible and get the workforce on a two-year cycle without hesitation. SB 778 is in effect immediately now that it has been approved by Governor Newsome.

Syntrio is the industry leader in online solutions for compliance with California’s sexual harassment training requirements. We have been assisting employers with sexual harassment training compliance since before the FEHA was amended in 2005 to require harassment training. Contact an account executive for further assistance and to implement a solution to your training needs today.