While you’re perfecting sale scripts, make sure your staff is in compliance in other ways. Every two years employees must take a harassment training course and new employees must receive the training within six months of being hired. A separate law expands sexual harassment liability for real estate agents in a professional relationship with heir clients. Renew Now
Sexual Harassment Training Law Effective 2019
- Training required for all employees, not just supervisors, by the end of 2020 for businesses with five “employees” or more.
- Once every two years thereafter.
- New employees must receive the training within 6 months of being hired.
- A separate law expands sexual harassment liability for real estate agents in a professional relationship with their clients.
- Course for employees and supervisors are available.
Training Requirements
Employers with 5 or more employees, or even five or more salespersons or brokers even if independent contractors, including temporary or seasonal employees, must provide at least:
- 2 hours of sexual harassment training to all supervisory employees, and at least
- 1 hour of sexual harassment training to all nonsupervisory employees by January 1, 2021, and
- Once every 2 years thereafter.
Going forward, training must be retaken within two years of the initial training date. For example, if the initial training took place on June 30, 2020, the next training deadline would be June 30, 2022.
This law also required the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to develop or obtain 1-hour and 2-hour online training courses and informational posters on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace and to post them on the department’s Internet Web site.
See Senate Bill 1343 and Senate Bill 778 codified as Government Code §§ 12950 and 12950.1. The deadline for compliance was originally January 1, 2020. But that deadline was extended under SB 778 to January 1, 2021. SB 778 also clarifies that employers who train their employees in 2019 aren’t required to provide refresher training until two years from the time the employee was trained.
Prior to January 1, 2019, the law only applied to employers with 50 or more employees, and only required them to provide at least 2 hours of prescribed training and education to all supervisory employees within 6 months of their assumption of a supervisory position and once every 2 years.
Real Estate Agent to Client Liability Expanded
Recent changes in the law have lowered the bar for a client to sue an agent for sexual harassment. Under a newly enacted expansion of this law, even if a business, service, or professional “relationship” does not presently exist, a real estate agent may be liable for sexual harassment when he or she holds himself or herself out as being able to help the client professionally. It does not matter that the client may easily terminate the relationship.
See Senate Bill 224 codified as Civil Code § 51.9, and Government Code §§ 12930 and 12948. Effective January 1, 2019.
Summary of Training Requirements and Recommendations
Question: I am a broker with five sales agents who are independent contractors. Are the independent contractors required to take the sexual harassment training?
Answer: Currently, no. But if you have any employees at all, even just one employee, then the employee(s) would have to take the training.
Bottom Line recommendations:
For employee training. If you have five or more employees or even five or more salespersons or brokers even if independent contractors, then by January 1, 2021, all employees are required to have taken the one-hour training, and will need to retake it once every two years going forward. Furthermore, new employees must receive the training within 6 months of being hired.
For sales agent training. The law currently does not require sales agents or brokers retained as independent contractors to take the training. However, since real estate agent to client liability was expanded (as discussed above), it is highly recommended that sales agents, too, take the training even if retained as independent contractors.
For supervisor training. If you have five or more employees or even five or more independent contractors (sales persons or broker associates), then by January 1, 2021, all “supervisory employees” are required to have taken the two-hour supervisor training, and will need to retake it once every two years going forward. Furthermore, a new supervisor must take the training within 6 months of assuming a supervisory position. Please note that many supervisor/office managers are employees, and if so, they would be required to take the training.
As a risk management precaution, we strongly recommend that the responsible broker take the supervisory training along with all other persons who supervise agents or employees. This will include anyone who is in a position to hire, fire, reward or discipline an employee or independent contractor licensee, or who has the responsibility of directing an employee or independent contractor licensee. This recommendation applies regardless of how many employees or independent contractors have been retained.