Prevention of Sexual Harassment for Employees in California

Sexual harassment in remote workplace settings can happen through inappropriate messages, explicit images, or suggestive gestures during video meetings or chats. Even though work is done virtually, the same harassment rules apply. Employees should document incidents, save evidence like screenshots or emails, and report the issue using company procedures. Employers must remind staff that remote environments are extensions of the workplace and that respectful communication still applies.

California AB 1825 training requirements require employers with 50 or more employees to provide at least two hours of interactive sexual harassment training to supervisors every two years. This ensures that supervisors understand how to identify, prevent, and address harassment effectively. AB 1825 matters because it builds awareness, encourages accountability, and helps maintain a safe, compliant, and respectful workplace for all employees.

California AB 2053 sexual harassment training expands on AB 1825 by requiring that training also cover abusive conduct or workplace bullying. Online businesses must ensure supervisors receive interactive training that includes both sexual harassment and bullying prevention. This helps promote respect and professionalism, even in virtual settings, and reinforces that all forms of misconduct—whether in person or online—are unacceptable in California workplaces.

California SB 396 training requirements add new protections by requiring employers to include gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation topics in their harassment prevention training. Employers must ensure that all staff understand these protected categories and know how to maintain an inclusive, harassment-free environment. SB 396 strengthens diversity awareness and compliance with California’s broader anti-discrimination laws.

California SB 1343 training requirements apply to all employers with five or more employees. It mandates one hour of sexual harassment training for non-supervisory workers and two hours for supervisors every two years. This law ensures that all employees—whether full-time, part-time, or seasonal—are educated about their rights and responsibilities in preventing harassment, helping create safer and more equitable California workplaces.

California SB 778 training requirements clarify and extend the timelines established under SB 1343. Employers must retrain both supervisors and employees every two years, based on the date of their last training. SB 778 emphasizes that compliance is ongoing, not one-time, and that consistent sexual harassment training is key to maintaining awareness, accountability, and compliance in all California workplaces.

Harassment in California workplaces includes any unwelcome behavior based on a person’s sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, or other protected traits. It can be verbal, visual, physical, or written, and does not have to be sexual in nature. Even a single severe incident or repeated inappropriate behavior can qualify as harassment if it creates a hostile work environment or affects an employee’s ability to perform their job.