Sexual Harassment Training In California Explained

Published on: 31/12/2021 | Updated on: September 26, 2026

If you are an employer in California, then you undeniably have a lot of things on your plate. There are just so many different things that you have to juggle, while also needing to be sure that the work environment you are providing to your employees is safe and secure. One of the things that you need to worry about as an employer is proper sexual harassment training. Read more about this problem in the workplace.

In case you don’t know much about these trainings in California and in case you are not even sure whether you need them, I would advise you to continue reading, since I will give you a more thorough explanation on it all and help you understand not only whether you need to conduct the training, but also how to conduct it, as well as who needs to be trained. In short, I will give you the answers to a few important questions that you have regarding this practice in California. That will help you become a much better employer and thus protect both your workers and your business.

Is It Mandatory?

Probably the first thing that you want to know is if the sexual harassment training is actually mandatory in California workplaces. This is because you want to be sure that you are following the rules and that you aren’t opening yourself up to any lawsuits that might ensue because you’ve decided to bend the rules or because you weren’t even aware of those. Now, before we get to answering this, I want to mention one important thing.

Even if this type of prevention training wasn’t necessary, providing it could be quite useful for your business and your employees. After all, I am quite certain that you want all your workers to be safe and to know precisely how they can and cannot behave in the workplace. If any of your employees feel threatened, that can take a toll not only on their mental health, but also on your entire business.

That being said, you should also understand that sexual harassment training in California is state-mandated. There are certain requirements that those training need to meet in order to be considered successful, which means that you’ll have to find the perfect training program to provide to your staff. So, now that this is perfectly clear, let us move on to our next important question.

Who Needs To Be Trained?

In addition to wanting to know whether these programs are necessary, you also want to know who needs to be trained. Since the early 2021, Californian employers who employ five or more workers are obligated to train all of those workers, as well as supervisors within 6 months after they begin working there. Additionally, they all have to be retrained every two years.

Furthermore, non-supervisory employees also have to complete at least an hour of interactive education on sexual harassment and its prevention. Temporary employees that are hired for a period shorter than six months have to be trained within 30 days of their start date. Temporary employees that are hired from an agency should receive this training from the said agency.

How To Provide The Training?

Now that you have gained the necessary knowledge regarding the sexual harassment training in the workplace in California, you only have one question left. Basically, since you know that this is mandatory and since you are well aware of who needs to be trained, you now want to know precisely how to provide the trainings. Well, let me start by saying that there are a few different methods that you can use.

For starters, you can go for old-school, classroom training provider in person and led by a professional. Additionally, you could go for e-learning, which is computer-based and provides interactive experience. And, of course, you can opt for live webinars that are also led by qualified professionals. Whichever method you choose, you should provide your employees with the opportunity to ask questions at all times and you should make sure that they’ve understood everything perfectly.

Here’s why these programs are important: https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/sexual-harassment-prevention-training-why-is-it-important-58260

Regardless of the method you choose, you’ll have to make sure that the program you are choosing holds real value and that your workers will really be able to learn a lot from those. The same goes for the professional trainers that you will be choosing. This just means that you should be thorough in your research when trying to make your choice, because you want to find the best professionals for your job, as well as the best sexual harassment prevention programs that will help your staff gain the necessary knowledge and thus learn exactly how to prevent this type of malicious behavior in the workplace. So, take your time and choose wisely.