New AB 1825 Regs Published!

The new AB 1825 draft regs are here – at long last. As many of you know, ELT helped to write the regs as part of the Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee to the FEHC. See a detailed summary of the latest AB 1825 regulations.

So what are the highlights? For a quick synopsis, here is what really matters:

• The regs are not final, but will likely undergo very little change before they are adopted. That means you need to pay close attention to the regs as you plan your 2007 training efforts.
  
• E-learning and webinars need to be highly interactive (questions, skill-building activities, hypotheticals), and include the ability for learners to submit questions. Questions must be responded to in no less than 2 business days.
  
• Your classroom trainer, or the developer of an online program, needs to be  a true expert in harassment prevention. A generic training background is not enough, and a quick “primer” on harassment issues won’t prep someone for this role. Remember that in the event of litigation, these trainers and developers may be deposed or even spend time on the witness stand.
  
• Two hours of e-learning means a program that cannot be completed in less than 2 hours. Practically speaking, this means your training program needs: (1) a timer that requires learners who complete in less than 2 hours to view additional content until the 2 hour threshold is met, or (2) required media elements that cannot be completed in less than 2 hours.
  
• Training content can go beyond sexual harassment to include other protected categories, such as race and religion. Time spent on these other areas counts toward to the two-hour standard.
  
• Training records must be documented and kept for a minimum of 2 years.
  
• Training programs must cover the elements of an employer’s harassment policy and how to handle complaints.
  
• Retraining Must be Calendared Using Individual Tracking. Employers must track training for each supervisor measured two years from the date of the completion of the last training for that individual. The December 2005 regulations permitted "Training Year" tracking, which allowed employers to designate a "training year" in which to train supervisors. Under the old regulations, the employer could then retrain supervisors by the end of the next training year. The practical impact is that supervisors trained in early ’05 need to be trained in early ’07 versus the end of ’07. That moves the training deadline up for employers who started AB 1825 training efforts early in 2005.

If you would like to participate in the final public comment period, you have until July 20. For details on how to submit comments, go to the FEHC harassment regulations website. 

A final note of caution. In an effort to beef up their sales efforts, some training vendors claim to have “assisted” the FEHC in drafting the regs and as such, offer the “inside scoop” on the regulatory process. These are companies who are positioning their participation in the public AB 1825 hearings (anyone could attend and testify– see my previous posts from Feb ‘06) as equivalent to serving as the FEHC’s right hand in the regulatory process. It’s a stretch, to say the least.

It’s also an interesting move for companies whose businesses are based on ethics and compliance. 

Tags: AB 1825, AB 1825 regulations, AB1825, harassment training, sexual harassment training, vulgar language,