New California Labor and Employment Laws for 2019

This article provides an overview of the new labor and employment laws in California for 2019, including changes in fair employment, harassment prevention training, and settlement agreements for sexual harassment and discrimination cases.

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Executive Summary
SB-1300
This new law presented several changes in fair employment and the housing act. The newly
recommended law allows and forces employers to go through their policies to provide fair and
equal treatment to employees. Employees should be treated without any discrimination.
Harassment must be avoided in any case. Equity and fairness should be ensured by employers in
their acts and behaviors towards employees. This particular law prohibits employers to be unfair
with respect to their policies and procedures towards employees. Employees are protected
against all sort of harassment and inequitable behaviors when working in an organization. All
employers must assure that their policies and procedures comply with the specification of the
law. The law requires all harassment cases to be reported that resulted in a hostile working
environment or affected the performance of employees. Such harassment cases must be reported
to the authorized authority. Every organization is required to provide a comfortable working
environment where employees can do their best. Harassment cases, although rare, but affect the
environment and the people working in that environment. The plaintiff must also prove that he or
she has been subjected to harassment. The plaintiff must bring evidence that due to harassment
his perform has declined and the environment has been severely affected. Any discriminatory act
that created a hostile environment must also be immediately reported. The hostile environment
can either be caused by the decisions and actions of decision makers. Even if non-decision
makers are involved in discriminatory practices, these case can also be reported. Three
conditions must be met before the case is reported. The harassment or the discrimination act that
cause emotional distress can be brought to notice immediately if the following three conditions
are met

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 The emotional tranquility existing in the workplace is disturbed
 Job performance of the victim is severely affected
 The case interferes with the personal well-being of the victims (JD Supra, LLC, 2019).
SB-1343
Under this particular law, all employers are required to conduct a training session for managers’
and supervisors regarding harassment at the workplace. The training is mandatory for
organizations having more than fifty employees or independent contractors. Organizations must
make sure that the training is delivered to managers and supervisors within six months of their
employment and must be delivered after every two years. The training session must include
practices and policies that can be adapted to stop such harassments. Practical examples can also
be included. However, due to recent changes in the law, all organizations must deliver training
sessions to stop harassment at workplace that employee at least five employees or independent.
This training session will outline a procedure about how to combat or address such issues in the
workplace. The training session will be delivered to employees at the managerial or the
supervisory posts. The training session will last for at least two hours. However, by the year
2020, these training sessions can last for an hour. The training can be given alone or in conjugate
with other training sessions. Employees can complete their training program through group
presentations also. These changes will come into effect in the year 2020. The requirements for
training are different for seasonal and temporary employees. Such employees must be delivered
the training session within thirty days of employment or after finishing a hundred hours of work.
If employees choose to attend online training sessions, employers must deliver at least two
training session online (ERVIN COHEN & JESSUP LLP, 2018).

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SB-820
Settlement of the cases related to sexual harassment and discrimination can no longer be settled.
Previously, the plaintiff was allowed to settle the case after a certain agreement. However, after
2019, the settlement is not possible. The settlement allowed the plaintiff to hide factual
information regarding sexual harassment and discrimination. These settlements prevented the
victims of sexual harassment and discrimination from the disclosure of relevant facts that might
prove such cases.
Factual information can no longer be hidden from the respective authorities that are based on the
following
 Sexual harassment
 Harassment and discrimination involving some kind of business and professional
relationships
 Sexual harassment based on sex, inability to protect oneself from such events based on
sex, inability to retaliate the case of sexual harassment and discrimination based on sex
(Groff & Beverly, 2018)
Such information can never be hidden to reach a settlement agreement. All cases related to
sexual harassment and discrimination must be reported without the possibility of reach a mutual
agreement (Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, 2018).
HR Implications

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Organization these days employ employees from diverse backgrounds. Diversity is integral for
organizational success. However, an organization must make sure that employees from different
backgrounds aren’t discriminated based on the caste, color or the country they belong to. All
must be treated in the same manner while ignoring personal differences. This law protects
employees from being discriminated that might affect their performance or affect the working
environment. Harassment cases create a disturbing and hostile environment. Such issues must be
addressed before organizational and employee performance are disrupted. This law protects
employees from such cases that affect their emotional wellbeing and the tranquility of the
workplace to promote a healthy working environment.
Human resource managers must make sure that employees are capable of openly communicating
the harassment and discriminatory cases. The designated authority must immediately act towards
such issues. HR managers’ must devise policies that stand above discrimination. Equality must
be insured in all decisions such as promotion, reward distribution, and recruitment.
Human resource manager must organize a training session for managers and supervisors after at
least six months of their employment. Each training session must be at least two hours long.
These training sessions must be organized after every two years. The human resource manager is
responsible for ensuring that managers and supervisors participate in the training program. The
content of the training program should be updated and must prepare managers and supervisors to
deal with harassment cases and what they can do to stop such activities at the workplace.
Conclusion
The laws play an integral role in assuring that organizations are free from sexual harassment and
discrimination while promoting a healthy working environment. The government no longer

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allow the settlement of sexual harassment and discriminatory cases. All such cases must be
reported and investigated. These laws are helpful in eradicating sexual harassment and
discrimination in the workplace.
References
Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP. (2018, 5 November). Employer Alert: SB 1343 Extends Harassment
Training Requirements to Small Employers and Non-Supervisory Employees. Retrieved
April 30, 2019, from http://www.ecjlaw.com/employer-alert-sb-1343-extends-
harassment-training-requirements-small-employers-non-supervisory-employees/
Groff, S. E., & Beverly, A. (2018, October 2). California Restricts Confidentiality Provisions
Concerning Information Related to Sexual Harassment. Retrieved from
https://www.jacksonlewis.com/publication/california-restricts-confidentiality-provisions-
concerning-information-related-sexual-harassment
JD Supra, LLC. (2019, January 2). New California Labor and Employment Laws for 2019.
Retrieved April 30, 2019, from https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-california-labor-
and-employment-41291/
Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. (2018, October 23). SB 820 – Settlement Agreements Cannot
Prevent Disclosure of Sexual Harassment or Sexual Assault Information. Retrieved from
https://www.lcwlegal.com/news/sb-820-settlement-agreements-cannot-prevent-
disclosure-of-sexual-harassment-or-sexual-assault-information

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