Sexual Violence and Harassment Prevention Training for Janitorial Services Providers

Beginning in 2016, California introduced Assembly Bill 1978. AB 1978, also called the Property Service Workers Protection Act was established to protect against harassment and sexual violence for custodial staff in the workplace. The commonly used name for the campaign to enact this law was “Justice for Janitors“. AB 1978, was created with the intent of addressing mainly mainly focusing on undocumented female janitors who were found to frequently be victims of sexual violence and harassment while working night shifts. The commonly used name for the campaign to enact this law was “Justice for Janitors”. These incidents were mostly never reported, as many feared reprisal as women and in some cases as undocumented workers.

Since being introduced, Property Service Workers Protection Act, has been amended by Assembly Bill 547, the Janitor Survivor Empowerment Act. AB 547 requires janitorial employers to provide in-person instructor-led training in preventing sexual violence and harassment at least once every two years.

The regulations establishing the training requirements are pursuant to Labor Code section 1429.5 and have been adopted by the Labor Commissioner’s Office, effective July 15, 2020.