Effective January 1, 2019, California employers with 5 or more employees (located anywhere) are required to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees before January 1, 2020.

The minimum count of “5” employees includes seasonal and temporary hires as well as independent contractors.

The law requires two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors (and to out-of-state supervisors of California employees), and one hour of such training to nonsupervisory employees.

Training must take place within 6 months of hire or promotion and every 2 years thereafter. To comply with the January 1, 2020 deadline, all employees must be trained during the 2019 calendar year.

Finally, the law limits qualified harassment trainings to three types of individuals: (1) Attorneys who have been members of any state bar for at least two years and whose practice includes employment law under the Fair Employment and Housing Act or Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) Human resource professionals or harassment prevention consultants with at least two years of practical experience in: designing or discrimination training on discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment prevention and/or investigating, responding to, or advising regarding sexual harassment, discrimination or retaliation; or (3) law school, college, or university instructors with a post-graduate degree or California teaching credential and either 20 hours of instruction about employment law under the FEHA or Title VII.