Closes existing loophole for local elected officials
(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Today, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) and Joint Author Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1661 which would require local elected officials to take a mandatory sexual harassment training and education course within the first six months of being elected and must be repeated every two years.
“Requiring city elected officials to go through mandatory sexual harassment prevention training and education is common sense for officials that have a supervisory role and are held to a higher standard,” said Assemblymember McCarty. “By ensuring a healthy and safe work environment, valuable taxpayer dollars will not have to be used to settle harassment cases and instead be used for needed local services.”
“Elected officials have a higher bar as supervisors to understand the laws that protect their employees and to ensure their workplaces are free from sexual harassment,” noted Assemblywoman Gonzalez, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Women in the Workplace, “This starts with guaranteeing they receive the necessary training to keep workers safe."
Existing law does not explicitly state that city elected officials are required to take a sexual harassment prevention training and education course, which has allowed each city to interpret the law differently. Some city elected officials are taking training course like any other city employee, while others are opting out of it. This bill will clarify that city elected officials must complete sexual harassment training, just like any other city employee.
AB 1661 aims to create uniformity among all cities in California and to establish clear rules as to what the appropriate conduct in the work place is. In addition, this bill will eliminate any loss in revenue to cities associated with settlement claims for sexual harassment, which can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The bill is supported by the California Women’s Law Center and the Sacramento Collective for Women’s Rights. AB 1661 will be eligible for hearings in spring.
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