AB 1825 Sex Harassment Trainer

It's been a few weeks since the last post; yet I doubt anyone has been waiting on pins-and-needles for my next message.

Anyhoo, I have not been slacking off (other than failing to post). For example, I've:

• finished LawRoom's out-of-the-box AB 1825 training course for use by consultants/HR staff (we call it our "Portable Classroom")
• conducted an AB 1825 training for supervisors of a large fast-food chain using the "Portable Classroom" (the attendees loved the interactive radio-controlled responder units they used to answer the questions -- these units are like the "clickers" you see in the Ask-The-Audience lifeline section of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire TV-show)
  
• talked with the FEHC staff about AB 1825 regulations (the advisory committee is developing a draft set that will be presented to the Commission in mid-September, which will be followed by officially-proposed regulations issued for public comment; I'm guessing we'll get the new regulations around the new year)

Plus, I've been keeping up with case law. For example, California's Supreme Court decided a case involving the California prison system and a warden's multiple affairs with subordinates. Not surprisingly, the Court ruled that an atmosphere in which employees "must sleep with the boss" to get ahead is a hostile environment. link

Some commentators said that this was a change of law, but I see it as a natural and anticipated development. What's new is that previous cases held that favoritism to the boss' love-object was not harassing to other workers, since all other employees -- both men and women -- were equally disadvantaged by the boss' favoritism. However, the recent case is significantly different in that it involved multiple affairs and an environment in which women were treated as "playthings."