California businesses must train on preventing abusive conduct in the workplace
After California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed AB 2053 into law, businesses in California that employ 50 or more employees are required to provide supervisory employees with a minimum of two hours of interactive training on preventing “abusive conduct” in the workplace, every two years. California employers that employ 50 or more employees are already required to provide supervisors with training to prevent sexual harassment.
California law defines abusive conduct as malicious conduct “that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests.” (Gov’t Code Section 12950.1.)
The new law has an expansive list of conduct that may be abusive, including: infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, epithets, verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating, or humiliating, and gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance.
AB 2053 is codified at California Government Code § 12950.1 and will take effect January 1, 2015.
If you have questions about AB 2053, please contact your labor law counsel.
By Stephanie L. Marn
