BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1825
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1825 (Reyes)
          As Amended June 16, 2004
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |50-28|(May 25, 2004)  |SENATE: |21-12|(August 18,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2004)          |
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           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  








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            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  








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          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  




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