California continues its trend of championing social justice issues by making human trafficking training a legal requirement for employees in certain industries. The Golden State’s convenient access to international borders often leads to forced labor, commercial sex and other forms of exploitation. Two new California laws are designed to increase awareness and reporting and target…
Sexual harassment investigation procedure includes policies related to the proper handling of sexual harassment complaints, investigating sexual harassment claims, and evaluating appropriate disciplinary measures when it has been determined there are violations. My ability to conduct sexual harassment training comes from twelve years of experience conducting workplace investigations. This includes complaints of sexual harassment, hostile work…
Silicon Valley is a no-brainer. But where else in America is hiring at the smallest, scrappiest, biggest-growth-potential companies?
Want to hone your entrepreneurial skills and get a feel for the start-up scene before diving in to found your own company?
Heading out to Silicon Valley to search for a start-up gig is a no brainer, but what if you’re not that excited about West Coast living or are otherwise limited in where you can go? What other places offer you a decent chance of landing a job at a newly born company? Or how about if you’re hiring for your already existant new company. Where will your efforts run up against the most competition?
The deadline for supervisor training under California AB 1825, the law designed to instruct supervisory employees and managers in the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace is December 31, 2013.
AB 1825 (now codified at Cal. Gov. Code § 12950.1) became law in California on January 1, 2005, and requires all employers with at least 50 employees to provide two hours of classroom, eLearning (Online) or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment prevention to supervisory employees every two years. New supervisors must be trained within six months of being promoted to a supervisory position and, thereafter, every two years as outline in AB 1825.
In the wake of two lawsuits filed against the city, two Los Angeles officials are pushing for all city employees to take sexual harassment training courses.City Council President Herb Wesson and City Councilwoman Nury Martinez introduced a proposal Thursday that would require mandatory sexual harassment prevention training. Currently, just managers take the course. Additionally, the course would have to be taught by an individual, not simply taken online.
The council members also want employees to take a workforce violence training program and are seeking to bolster the city’s Ethic Commission training course.
The Los Angeles City Council signed off this week on a $1.5-million payment to a black police officer who said he repeatedly experienced racial harassment and a hostile work environment while working for the Police Department.
Earl Wright, an LAPD officer since 1989, sued the city two years ago, saying he was repeatedly humiliated by co-workers who carried out racial pranks and made derogatory remarks.
A new Senate Bill was passed this week that focuses specifically on sexual harassment prevention in the farm worker community. Senator Bill Monning sponsored Senate Bill 1087, which will now require sexual harassment training for farm supervisors, employees and labor contractors. In addition, the bill will deny licenses to farm labor contractors that have been found to have committed sexual harassment within the past 3 years. According to Senator Monning, the need for the bill stems from frequent sexual harassment and sexual assault, including rape, which occurs within the farm worker population.
Quid pro quo translates to “something for something.” Quid pro quo harassment occurs when an authority figure offers to give the employee something such as a raise or promotion in return for a sexual favor. The automotive specialty-equipment industry has historically been dominated by men. With minimal exceptions, women were relegated to the background or given roles as trophy show girls, photo models and product presenters.
As attitudes changed, however, women gained equal status in virtually every sector of the commercial auto manufacturing endeavor.
A California junior college has faced three sexual harassment cases by employees. Although in two of the cases a jury found mostly in favor of the school, in at least one of the three cases the college settled with the victim.
In October, the college faced the first of the three sexual harassment allegations. The charges came from a former female dean of the school. She claimed that she suffered sexual harassment and discrimination at the hands of her co-workers. She argued that her hostile work environment created by her co-workers was a result of gender discrimination. The jury ruled mostly in the favor of the school in that case.
Not that I think it’s weird that a brokerage firm chief executive would pin a female clerk on the floor by putting his shoe on her breast (the right one, if you must know), or that some insurance company man in California would put a sample of his semen in a female colleague’s water bottle. Twice.
A large building-maintenance company will pay $5.8 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the government involving 21 Hispanic female workers who had to endure everything from explicit sexual comments to rape.
There’s an old Latin saying, “Magis lex = minor justicia”. This translates to English as “More law = less justice.”
As employee lawsuits against employers have skyrocketed and the amount of damages awarded increases every year, we know this is, at least partly, due to so many new employment laws created by state and federal governments. In fact, employment lawsuits currently represent approximately thirty percent of civil litigation in the U.S.
