AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 22, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2026
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
96
Introduced by Assembly Member Jackson
January 12, 2026
An act to amend Sections 12950.1 and 53237.1 of Section 53237.1 of, and to add Section 12950.4 to, the Government Code, relating to public officials.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: yes
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
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.
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.
This bill would require, if a state agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to a state agency official of that agency, that all state agency officials of that agency receive training on responding to hate, as prescribed. The bill would specify that state agency officials include elected officials for that purpose. The bill would require at least one hour of training and education for a state agency official within the first 6 months of taking office or commencing employment, and every 2 years thereafter. The bill would authorize a state agency or an association of state agencies to offer one or more training courses, or sets of self-study materials with tests, to meet these requirements. The bill would authorize a state agency to develop its own training that meets the requirements or direct elected officials to complete a training developed by the department. The bill would require the department to develop or obtain an online training course on responding to hate and make the course available on its internet website.
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 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 additionally require, beginning on January 1, 2028, the above-described training and education to include for any elected state or local agency official, as a component of the training and education, anti-hate speech training, as described. The bill would authorize an elected local agency official to take a training developed for state agency officials pursuant to the bill to satisfy the anti-hate speech training requirement.
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 people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 12950.1 of the Government Code is amended to read:
12950.1.
(a) (1) By January 1, 2021, an employer having five or more employees shall provide at least two 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. Thereafter, each employer covered by this section shall provide sexual harassment training and education to each employee in California once every two years. New nonsupervisory employees shall be provided training within six months of hire. New supervisory employees shall be provided training within six months of the assumption of a supervisory position. An employer may provide this training in conjunction with other training provided to the employees. The training may be completed by employees individually or as part of a group presentation and may be completed in shorter segments, as long as the applicable hourly total requirement is met. An employer who has provided this training and education to an employee in 2019 is not required to provide refresher training and education again until two years thereafter. The training and education required by this section shall include information and practical guidance regarding the federal and state statutory provisions concerning the prohibition against and the prevention and correction of sexual harassment and the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment. The training and education shall also include practical examples aimed at instructing supervisors in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation and shall be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. The department shall provide a method for employees who have completed the training to save electronically and print a certificate of completion.
(2) An employer shall also include prevention of abusive conduct as a component of the training and education specified in paragraph (1).
(3) An employer shall also provide training inclusive of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation as a component of the training and education specified in paragraph (1). The training and education shall include practical examples inclusive of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation and shall be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in those areas.
(4) Beginning on January 1, 2028, an employer that is a state agency or local agency shall also include anti-hate speech training as a component of the training and education specified in paragraph (1) for all elected state or local officials. Anti-hate speech training shall provide practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, engaging or participating in, and confronting speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on the protected characteristics listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940.
(b) The state shall incorporate the training required by subdivision (a) into the 80 hours of training provided to all new employees pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19995.4, using existing resources.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (j) and (k) of Section 12940, a claim that the training and education required by this section did not reach a particular individual or individuals shall not in and of itself result in the liability of any employer to any present or former employee or applicant in any action alleging sexual harassment. Conversely, an employer’s compliance with this section does not insulate the employer from liability for sexual harassment of any current or former employee or applicant.
(d) If an employer violates this section, the department may seek an order requiring the employer to comply with these requirements.
(e) The training and education required by this section is intended to establish a minimum threshold and should not discourage or relieve any employer from providing for longer, more frequent, or more elaborate training and education regarding workplace harassment or other forms of unlawful discrimination in order to meet its obligations to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent and correct harassment and discrimination. This section shall not be construed to override or supersede statutes, including, but not limited to, Section 1684 of the Labor Code, that meet or exceed the training for nonsupervisory employees required under this section.
(f) Except as provided in subdivision (l), beginning January 1, 2021, for seasonal, temporary, or other employees that are hired to work for less than six months, an employer shall provide training within 30 calendar days after the hire date or within 100 hours worked, whichever occurs first. In the case of a temporary employee employed by a temporary services employer, as defined in Section 201.3 of the Labor Code, to perform services for clients, the training shall be provided by the temporary services employer, not the client.
(g) Beginning January 1, 2020, sexual harassment prevention training for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, as defined in the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1801, et seq.), shall be consistent with training for nonsupervisory employees pursuant to paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 1684 of the Labor Code.
(h) (1) For purposes of this section only, “employer” means any person regularly employing five or more persons or regularly receiving the services of five or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities.
(2) For purposes of this section, “abusive conduct” means conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests. Abusive conduct may include repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets, verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating, or humiliating, or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance. A single act shall not constitute abusive conduct, unless especially severe and egregious.
(i) For purposes of providing training to employees as required by this section, an employer may develop its own training module or may direct employees to view the online training course referenced in subdivision (j) and this shall be deemed to have complied with and satisfied the employers’ obligations as set forth in this section and Section 12950.
(j) The department shall develop or obtain two online training courses on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace in accordance with the provisions of this section. The course for nonsupervisory employees shall be one hour in length, and the course for supervisory employees shall be two hours in length.
(k) The department shall make the online training courses available on its internet website. The online training courses shall contain an interactive feature that requires the viewer to respond to a question periodically in order for the online training courses to continue to play. Any questions resulting from the online training course described in this subdivision shall be directed to the trainee’s employer’s human resources department or equally qualified professional rather than the department.
(l) (1) An employer that employs workers pursuant to a multiemployer collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry may satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a) or (f) by demonstrating that the employee has received the training required by subdivision (a) within the past two years under any of the following circumstances:
(A) While the employee was employed by another employer that is also signatory to a multiemployer collective bargaining agreement with the same trade in the building and construction industry.
(B) While the employee was an apprentice registered in a building and construction trades apprenticeship program approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards.
(C) Through a building and construction trades apprenticeship program approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, a labor management training trust, or labor management cooperation committee. For purposes of this subdivision, “labor management cooperation committee” shall mean a committee that is established pursuant to Section 175a of Title 29 of the United States Code.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “multiemployer collective bargaining agreement” means a bona fide collective bargaining agreement to which multiple employers are signatory, including predecessor and successor agreements.
(3) An employer shall require verification that an employee has undergone prevention of harassment training pursuant to this subdivision within the past two years. The employer shall provide prevention of harassment training pursuant to subdivision (a) for any employee for whom verification cannot be obtained.
(4) A state-approved apprenticeship program, labor management training trust, or labor management cooperation committee shall maintain a certificate of completion of training for each person to whom the entity has provided prevention of harassment training pursuant to this subdivision for a period of not less than four years. The apprenticeship program, labor management training trust, or labor management cooperation committee shall maintain a database of journey-level worker and apprentice training that entity has provided and shall provide verification of an employee’s or apprentice’s prevention of harassment training status upon the request of an employer that is a party to the multiemployer collective bargaining agreement.
(5) (A) A qualified trainer may provide prevention of harassment training on behalf of an apprenticeship program, labor management training trust, or labor management cooperation committee.
(B) A “qualified trainer,” for purposes of this subdivision, is any person who, through a combination of training and experience, has the ability to train employees about the following:
(i) How to identify behavior that may constitute unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation under both California and federal law.
(ii) What steps to take when harassing behavior occurs in the workplace.
(iii) How to report harassment complaints.
(iv) Supervisory employees’ obligation to report harassing, discriminatory, or retaliatory behavior of which they become aware.
(v) How to respond to a harassment complaint.
(vi) The employer’s obligation to conduct a workplace investigation of a harassment complaint.
(vii) What constitutes retaliation and how to prevent it.
(viii) Essential components of an anti-harassment policy.
(ix) The effect of harassment on harassed employees, coworkers, harassers, and employers.
(C) A “qualified trainer” includes, but is not limited to, an attorney admitted to the State Bar of California with at least two years of experience practicing employment law, a human resources professional with at least two years of practical experience in prevention of harassment training, investigation, and advising employers in the prevention of harassment, or any other person who has received training in the provision of prevention of harassment training from a qualified trainer.
(6) An apprenticeship program, labor management training trust, or labor management cooperation committee may also provide training by use of the online training courses referenced in subdivision (j).
(7) An apprenticeship program, labor management training trust, or labor management cooperation committee shall not incur any liability for providing prevention of harassment training or for maintaining records pursuant to this subdivision.
(m) (1) An employee who has received training in compliance with this section within the prior two years either from a current, a prior, or an alternate or a joint employer, or who received a valid work permit from the Labor Commissioner that required the employee to receive training in compliance with this section within the prior two years, shall be given, and required to read and to acknowledge receipt of, the employer’s anti-harassment policy within six months of assuming the employee’s new position. That employee shall then be put on a two-year tracking schedule based on the employee’s last training. The current employer shall have the burden of establishing that the prior training was legally compliant with this section.
(2) A state or local official who serves more than one state agency or local agency shall only be required to receive training pursuant to this section once every two years without regard to the number of state agencies or local agencies the official serves.
SECTION 1.
Section 12950.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:
12950.4.
(a) If a state agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to a state agency official of that agency, then all state agency officials of that agency shall receive training on responding to hate pursuant to this section. For the purpose of this section, “state agency official” includes an elected official.
(b) Each state agency official shall receive at least one hour of training and education within the first six months of taking office or commencing employment, and every two years thereafter.
(c) The training and education required by this section shall include information and practical guidance about how to respond to threats and harassment both during and outside of public meetings, de-escalation training, information about the prevalence of hate incidents, and resources available for victims of hate.
(d) A state agency or an association of state agencies may offer one or more training courses, or sets of self-study materials with tests, to meet the requirements of this section. These courses may be taken at home, in person, or online.
(e) All providers of training courses shall provide participants with proof of participation. Proof of participation may include an electronic certificate received upon completion of an online training course.
(f) A state agency may develop its own training that meets the requirements of this section or direct elected officials to complete the training developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (h).
(g) A state agency official who serves more than one state agency shall satisfy the requirements of this section once every two years without regard to the number of state agencies the official serves.
(h) The department shall develop or obtain an online training course on responding to hate in accordance with this section. The department shall make the online training course available on its internet website.
SEC. 2.
Section 53237.1 of the Government Code is amended to read:
53237.1.
(a) If a local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to a local agency official of that agency, then all local agency officials of that agency shall receive sexual harassment prevention training and education pursuant to this article. A local agency may also require any of its employees to receive sexual harassment prevention training and education pursuant to this article.
(b) Each local agency official, or employee who is so required, shall receive at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training and education within the first six months of taking office or commencing employment, and every two years thereafter.
(c) An entity that develops curricula to satisfy the requirements of this section shall consult with legal counsel for the entity regarding the sufficiency and accuracy of that proposed content. An entity is permitted to include local sexual harassment prevention training and education policies in the curricula.
(d) (1) The training and education required by this section shall include information and practical guidance regarding the federal and state statutory provisions concerning the prohibition against, and the prevention and correction of, sexual harassment and the remedies available to victims of sexual harassment in employment. The training and education shall also include practical examples aimed at instructing the local agency official in the prevention of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and shall be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
(2) Beginning on January 1, 2028, the training and education required by this section for any elected local agency official shall also include anti-hate speech training as a component of the training and education. Anti-hate speech training shall provide practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, engaging or participating in, and confronting speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on the protected characteristics listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940. An elected local agency official may take a training developed pursuant to Section 12950.4 to satisfy the training requirement of this paragraph.
(e) A local agency or an association of local agencies may offer one or more training courses, or sets of self-study materials with tests, to meet the requirements of this section. These courses may be taken at home, in person, or online.
(f) All providers of training courses shall provide participants with proof of participation to meet the requirements of this article.
(g) A local agency shall provide a recommendation on training available to meet the requirements of this article to its local agency officials and its employees at least once in written form before assuming a new position and every two years thereafter.
(h) A local agency official who serves more than one local agency shall satisfy the requirements of this article once every two years without regard to the number of local agencies the official serves.
SEC. 3.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.