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."

This entry was posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 at 6:51 PM.