Employment: sexual harassment training and education: anti-hate speech training.

Education Housing Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Lowenthal (A) , Zbur
Last action: 2026-04-23
Official status: Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Training for Employers on Sexual Harassment and Anti-Hate Speech

This law requires employers with five or more employees to provide regular sexual harassment prevention training, including information about abusive conduct, and now also includes anti-hate speech training.

What This Bill Does

Requires employers with at least five workers to give supervisory staff two hours of training on sexual harassment and one hour for non-supervisory staff.
This training must happen by January 1, 2021, and then every two years after that.
The training must also cover how to prevent abusive behavior in the workplace.
Now, this training will include lessons about anti-hate speech.

Who It Names or Affects

Employers with five or more employees
Supervisory staff and non-supervisory staff

Terms To Know

Civil Rights Department: The agency that enforces laws against unfair treatment in the workplace.
Abusive conduct: Behavior at work that is unreasonable and causes harm to others.

Limits and Unknowns

It does not specify what exactly 'anti-hate speech' training should cover.
The bill has passed the legislature but its final approval and implementation details are still pending.

Bill History

2026-04-23 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2026-04-22 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (April 22).
2026-04-13 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2026-04-09 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended.
2026-04-08 California Legislative Information
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (April 7).
2026-03-19 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (March 18). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
2026-02-23 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on L. & E. and JUD.
2026-02-11 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be heard in committee March 13.
2026-02-10 California Legislative Information
Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1803, as amended, Lowenthal.
Employment: sexual harassment training and education: anti-hate speech training.
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 that the above-described training and education include, as a component of the training and education, anti-hate speech training.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Download Bill PDF