BILL ANALYSIS AB 1825 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1825 (Reyes) As Amended June 16, 2004 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |50-28|(May 25, 2004) |SENATE: |21-12|(August 18, | | | | | | |2004) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: L. & E. SUMMARY : Requires specified employers to provide training on sexual harassment. The Senate amendments require each employer to provide sexual harassment training and education to each supervisory employee once every two years, after January 1, 2006. EXISTING LAW : 1)Makes certain specified employment practices unlawful, including the harassment of an employee directly by the employer or indirectly by agents of the employer with the employer's knowledge. 2)Requires every employer to act to ensure a workplace free of sexual harassment by implementing certain minimum requirements, including posting sexual harassment information posters at the workplace and obtaining and making available an information sheet on sexual harassment. 3)Requires each state supervisorial employee, upon the employee's initial appointment to a designated supervisory position, be provided a minimum of 80 hours of training. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill: 1)Required employers with 50 or more employees to provide two hours of training and education to all supervisory employees within one year of January 1, 2005, unless the employer has provided sexual harassment training and education to employees after January 1, 2003. 2)Provided that a claim that the training and education did not AB 1825 Page 2 reach a particular individual does not automatically result in the liability of an employer for sexual harassment. 3)Provided that an employer's compliance with the training requirement does not insulate the employer from liability for sexual harassment of any current or former employee or applicant. 4)Required the state to incorporate the required training into the 80 hours of training provided to all supervisory employees pursuant to existing law. 5)Specified that this bill establishes a minimum threshold for training and education and that employers may provide training and education beyond that required by the statute to prevent and correct sexual harassment and discrimination. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, the Department of Personnel Administration has indicated that the state employs 25,000 supervisors and 500 managers and bases its costs estimates, of $750,000 to $1,000,000 annually beginning 2005-06, on between 50,000 and 60,000 staff hours being needed to provide the required training to state employees. COMMENTS : The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) primarily covers sexual harassment in state law. FEHA is enforced by the Fair Employment and Housing Commission. FEHA defines sexual harassment to include, verbal harassment, physical harassment, and visual harassment. Unwelcome sexual advances toward an employee of the same sex and harassment on the basis on pregnancy disability are both considered unlawful sexual harassment under FEHA. It should be noted that employers may be held liable for sexual harassment of a subordinate by a supervisor, as well as harassment between co-workers. Recent legislation also provides that employers may potentially be liable for sexual harassment committed against their workers by clients, customers and other third parties. The author argues that, even with current laws to prevent sexual harassment, during the 2002-03 fiscal year, 4,231 sexual harassment cases were filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), totaling 22% of all cases filed AB 1825 Page 3 at DFEH. The impact of sexual harassment on businesses is significant. Harassment costs the average Fortune 500 company $6.7 million per year in indirect costs alone. This bill, modeled on a Connecticut statute, would require large employers to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to supervisory employees. Supporters contend that sexual harassment in the workplace remains a major problem and that this bill represents a pro-active approach to reducing sexual harassment Other legislation: AB 2889 (Laird) of 2004, makes employers responsible for the acts of non-employees with respect to all forms of harassment in the workplace where the employer or its agents or supervisors knew or should have known of the conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. AB 76 (Corbett), Statutes of 2003, Chapter 671, amends FEHA to prohibit sexual harassment of an employee in the workplace by a person other than an employee, agent, or supervisor of the employer. Analysis Prepared by : Nick Louizos / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN: 0007781