California AB1825 Sexual Harassment Law
Sexual harassment is certainly a problem in the workplace and needs to be addressed immediately and correctly when a claim is made. Although there are laws already on the books, California decided to enact another law on sexual harassment called AB1825. This only frustrates me since companies already have to deal with existing laws not only on sexual harassment, but numerous others. Why reinvent the wheel?
I can speak from experience when I tell you that I dealt with one of the most complex sexual harassment claims ever when I was a Human Resources Director at a California hotel. This situation took place long before AB1825 was ever even thought about, and the new law would not have changed anything about what took place. The sexual harassment policies that were a part of our organization and the training I conducted with our supervisors and regular staff was outstanding and more than complied with the laws on the books at the time.
I was stunned one day when a female employee walked into my office and stated that she had been raped two days ago by her supervisor. My mouth dropped open in disbelief but I was able to gain my composure enough to ask her if she would like to have a female supervisor present. She seemed relieved and agreed she would like them there while I questioned her. Because it had been a supervisor that was involved in this case, the new law AB1825 would not have mattered at all.
The new law AB1825 is directed at supervisors being educated about sexual harassment and how to prevent it. When it came to the employee claiming she had been sexually harassed by her supervisor the law would not have mattered. Sexual harassment claims can get very complex depending on the situation and in this case it was extremely complex so getting at the truth was very important. People’s careers and emotions were at stake.
Getting at the truth anytime a charge of sexual harassment is made is a very important part of my job as Manager. As an example if we handle the charge incorrectly and charge someone with sexual harassment that didn’t really do anything wrong they may lose their family over it. On the other hand if we take it too lightly and do nothing the emotional state of the person being violated could have an impact on them for the rest of their lives. Getting at the truth is critical and sometimes very difficult. The new law really does nothing to address that anymore than the other ones that are already on the books
I am a very strong advocate for protecting everyone’s rights within the workplace. A workplace should be somewhere that employees can feel safe to do their jobs, free from harassment or discrimination. As far as I am concerned AB1825 only brings more attention to sexual harassment, which I guess isn’t a bad thing. But I would argue that California should have placed more attention on the laws that are already on the books, rather than create new ones that only cloud the issue more.
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