The 12 days of California Labor & Employment Series – Day 12 "Sexual Harassment Training Requirements Expanded for Farm Contractors"

It's the end of the year and while everyone is busy, employers in California should be aware of new laws and regulations that go into effect on January 1, 2018. In the spirit of the season, we are using the next "12 days of the holidays" to blog about one California law a day and that law's impact on California employers. On the twelfth day of Christmas, my Labor and Employment attorney gave to me – twelve lords a leaping and SB 295.

In order to secure a farm labor contractor license, an applicant must attest that supervisorial and non-supervisorial employees have required training regarding identifying, preventing and reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. SB 295 adds additional requirements for farm contractors. Under SB 295, an applicant securing a farm labor contractor license must provide the Labor Commissioner with a complete list of all materials and resources used to provide sexual harassment prevention training to agricultural employees.  In addition, the applicant must provide the number of agricultural employees trained in sexual harassment during the calendar year preceding the application. 

The sexual harassment training must be provided in a language understood by the agricultural employee. A farm labor contractor can be fined by the Labor Commissioner for failing to provide the requisite training and documentation at a rate of $100 per violation.