Official Summary Text
AB 1578, as amended, Jackson.
State and local officials:
antihate
sexual harassment training and education: anti-hate
speech training.
Existing law requires each state agency to offer at least semiannually, and certain state officials to attend once every 2 years, an orientation course on the relevant ethics statutes and regulations that govern the official conduct of state officials. Existing law requires each state agency to maintain records indicating the specific attendees, each attendee’s job title, and dates of their attendance for each orientation course offered for a period of not less than 5 years after each course is given.
This bill would require, beginning on January 1, 2028, a state official to complete at least one hour of antihate speech training and education within 6 months of taking office and subsequently every 4 years thereafter. The bill would require each state agency to maintain records indicating the date that a state official completed the antihate speech
training and education for a period of not less than 5 years after the training is complete.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act makes specified employment practices unlawful, including the harassment of an employee directly by the employer or indirectly by agents of the employer with the employer’s knowledge. Under existing law, the Civil Rights Department administers these provisions. Existing law requires a specified employer with 5 or more employees to, by January 1, 2021, provide at least 2 hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all nonsupervisory employees in California and, after that date, once every 2 years. Existing law requires an employer
to include prevention of abusive conduct as a component of that training and education.
This bill would additionally require, beginning on January 1, 2028, for an employer that is a state agency or local agency that the above-described training and education include, as a component of the training and education for elected officials, anti-hate speech training.
Existing law requires an employee who has received the above-described training and education within the prior 2 years as specified, to be given, and be required to read and to acknowledge receipt of, the employer’s anti-harassment policy within 6 months of assuming the employee’s new position. Existing law requires the employee then be put on a 2-year tracking schedule based on the employee’s last training. Under existing law, the current employer has the burden of establishing that the prior training was legally compliant with the act.
This bill would specify that a state official or local official who serves more than one state agency or local agency only be required to receive the above-described training once every 2 years without regard to the number of state agencies or local agencies the official serves.
Existing law requires local agency officials, as defined, to receive sexual harassment prevention training and education if the local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to those officials. Existing law requires
an entity that develops curricula to satisfy
this requirement to consult with the city attorney or county counsel regarding the sufficiency and accuracy of that proposed content. Existing law requires a local agency that requires its local agency officials to complete the sexual harassment prevention training and education to maintain records related to the training, as specified.
the training and education to include practical examples aimed at instructing the local agency official in the prevention of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
This bill would also require a local agency official to receive at least one hour of antihate speech training and education within the first 6 months of taking office and every 4 years thereafter. The bill would require an
entity that develops curricula to satisfy this requirement to consult with the city attorney or county counsel regarding the sufficiency and accuracy of that proposed content. The bill would require a local agency that requires its local agency officials to complete the antihate speech training and education prescribed to maintain records, as specified.
This bill would additionally require, beginning on January 1, 2028, the above-described training and education include for any elected state or local official, as a component of the training and education, anti-hate speech training.
By imposing new requirements on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The California Constitution requires local agencies, for
the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.