Civil Rights Department Reminds Employers to Ensure Staff Meet Bi-Annual Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Requirement

Under California law, employers with five or more employees must provide at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training every two years Updated training for additional clarity and improved user experience is now available for free online

SACRAMENTO – The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) reminds employers across California to ensure they and their employees are in compliance with the state’s bi-annual sexual harassment prevention training requirements. Under California law, employers with five or more employees must provide a minimum of one hour of training to nonsupervisory employees and two hours of training to supervisory employees every two years. With the end of the year approaching, many workers may be coming up against their employer’s internal training deadline.

“Sexual harassment is unacceptable and has no place on the job,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “At the California Civil Rights Department, we’re committed to protecting your rights. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Californians take sexual harassment prevention training through our office and hundreds file complaints with us. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, reach out to our office and consider filing a complaint. Together, we can help put a stop to unlawful discrimination and harassment against workers.”

California is committed to protecting all California workers from unlawful discrimination and sexual harassment. As part of the state’s efforts, sexual harassment prevention training is legally required and designed to educate or remind workers about what is — and is not — acceptable behavior in the workplace. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination based on sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. People of any gender can be the target of sexual harassment and unlawful sexual harassment does not have to be motivated by sexual desire. It can also involve harassment by a person of the same gender, regardless of either person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

CRD offers free online trainings that satisfy the state’s legal requirements for sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training. An updated version of the trainings for additional clarity, improved user experience, and new content is now available online in English. The trainings provide guidance on preventing and correcting illegal harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and abusive conduct in the workplace — using realistic scenarios to illustrate how these issues may manifest at work. Translations of the updated trainings are forthcoming. Prior versions of CRD’s sexual harassment prevention trainings remain valid for the purposes of meeting the state’s legally mandated training requirements and are available in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual harassment, CRD may be able to assist you through its complaint process. General information about CRD’s complaint process and how to file a complaint is available here.

Additional information about California’s protections against sexual harassment is available here and here. Information about sexual harassment prevention training for employees is available here. Information for employers is available here. The trainings can be accessed for free online here.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is the state agency charged with enforcing California’s civil rights laws. CRD’s mission is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and state-funded programs and activities, and from hate violence and human trafficking. For more information, visit calcivilrights.ca.gov.

Department Of Labor Releases Updated Prevailing Wage Resource Book

On April 1, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an updated version of its Prevailing Wage Resource Book. The resource provides an overview of prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and Service Contract Act. The updated guide incorporates changes to Davis-Bacon regulations that came into effect on October 23, 2023 under the August 2023 final rule. The final rule made drastic revisions to the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts regulations that apply to federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers.

Project Completion Determines Mechanics Lien Recording Deadline

Courtesy of Porter Law: Bill Porter

The California mechanics lien is one of the most powerful collection remedies available to contractors, subcontractors and suppliers who are unpaid for work performed and materials supplied in relation to a California private works construction project. The mechanics lien allows the claimant to actually sell the property where the work was performed in order to obtain payment. The recording of a mechanics lien is entirely of course, against the wishes of the property owner. There are a number of important steps to follow and timelines to be met in order to pursue this remedy.

First, Understand Your Preliminary Notice Deadline

Working within deadlines is absolutely crucial to preserving mechanics lien rights under California law. The deadlines differ, depending on whether you are a “direct” contractor, also known as “original” or “prime” contractor (one who contracts directly with the property owner) or a subcontractor or material supplier. The process begins with the serving of a “preliminary notice” no later than 20 days after the party serving the preliminary notice begins supplying labor or materials to the project. Direct contractors are only required to serve the preliminary notice on the construction lender, if any (Civil Code section 8200-8216), whereas subcontractors and material suppliers must serve not only the construction lender, but also the owner and direct contractor (see Civil Code section 8200(e)). 

Note: While Civil Code section 8204 specifies the last possible date on which to properly serve the preliminary notice, it does not specify a date which would be too early to serve the preliminary notice. The subcontractor or material supplier should establish mechanisms so that at some point between execution of a contract and the commencement of work or the supplying of materials the preliminary notice is properly served.

Procedure and Deadline for Service of a Preliminary Notice:

Within 20 days after first furnishing labor, materials or equipment to a jobsite, the subcontractor or material supplier must fill out and send a preliminary notice to the original contractor, owner and the lender, if any. Direct contractors need only serve the construction lender, if any, within the same time period. The notice should be sent by either registered mail, certified mail, return receipt requested, by express mail or overnight delivery by an express service carrier. The notice can also be hand-delivered. However, certified mail, registered mail or overnight delivery are strongly recommended because these methods provide a form of objective documentary proof of delivery. Before sending out the notice, always make a copy of the fully completed notice for your records. Staple your “receipt for certified mail” or other proof of delivery to your copy of the preliminary notice and keep it in a separate folder for the particular job. Later, after the post office or other service returns a return receipt or its equivalent to your office, staple that return receipt to your copy of the preliminary notice and return it to your job file. It is important to safeguard these documents since they may be needed to prove your effort to deliver the preliminary in court at a later time (See Civil Code sections 8200-8216).

Note: In projects where the contract is for over $400, failure of the subcontractor to give the preliminary notice may also subject the subcontractor to disciplinary action with the Contractors’ State License Board. (See Civil Code sections 8216, 8410; see also Civil Code sections 8200-8216.). It is very rare that the CSLB will take such action.

Direct (Prime or Original) Contractor Deadline to Record a Mechanics Lien

If a Valid Notice of Completion or a Notice of Cessation Has Been Recorded:

If a valid “notice of completion” or “notice of cessation” has been recorded with the County Recorder in the County where the work of improvement is physically located, the direct (prime) contractor has 60 days after the date on which such notice was recorded before which the direct (prime) contractor must record a mechanics lien. (See Civil Code sections 8050, 8188, 8182, 8184, 9204, 9208).  

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US Department of Labor Issues Final Rule to Clarify Rights to Employee Representation During OSHA Inspections

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has published a final rule clarifying the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer during an inspection of their workplace.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. The final rule clarifies that, consistent with the law, workers may authorize another employee to serve as their representative or select a non-employee. For a non-employee representative to accompany the compliance officer in a workplace, they must be reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection.

Consistent with OSHA's historic practice, the rule clarifies that a non-employee representative may be reasonably necessary based upon skills, knowledge or experience. This experience may include knowledge or experience with hazards or conditions in the workplace or similar workplaces, or language or communication skills to ensure an effective and thorough inspection. These revisions better align OSHA's regulation with the OSH Act and enable the agency to conduct more effective inspections. OSHA regulations require no specific qualifications for employer representatives or for employee representatives who are employed by the employer.

The rule is in part a response to a 2017 court decision ruling that the agency's existing regulation, 29 CFR 1903.8(c), only permitted employees of the employer to be authorized as representatives. However, the court acknowledged that the OSH Act does not limit who can serve as an employee representative and that OSHA's historic practice was a "persuasive and valid construction" of the OSH Act. Today's final rule is the culmination of notice and comment rulemaking that clarifies OSHA's inspection regulation and aligns with OSHA's longstanding construction of the act.

"Worker involvement in the inspection process is essential for thorough and effective inspections and making workplaces safer," said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. "The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives employers and employees equal opportunity for choosing representation during the OSHA inspection process, and this rule returns us to the fair, balanced approach Congress intended."

The rule is effective on May 31, 2024.

Learn more about OSHA

Heat Illness Prevention: Water – Rest - Shade

In California, heat illness prevention training is required for all outdoor workers and a written prevention plan must be available at all outdoor worksites. Cal/OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention regulation applies to all outdoor places of employment such as those in the agriculture, construction, and landscaping industries.

Steps Required to Prevent Heat Illness

• Water – Access to fresh and cool water so that each worker can drink at least 32 ounces of water per hour. 32 ounces is equal to four cups, or one quart of water per hour.
• Rest – A preventative cool-down rest in the shade is allowed whenever workers feel the need to prevent themselves from overheating.
• Shade – At any time workers can request access to shade and it must be provided. A shaded area must be present when temperature exceeds 80 degrees.
• Plan – Employers must develop and implement a written Heat Illness Prevention Plan, and some industries must also include high-heat procedures for when the temperature equals or exceeds 95 degrees.
• Training – All employees and supervisors must be effectively trained on heat illness prevention. Training should include the signs and symptoms of heat illness and procedures for responding to possible heat illness.

Cal/OSHA Guidance for Construction Employers

Construction employers must comply with Cal/OSHA regulations found in the following subchapters of California Code of Regulations, title 8, chapter 4: subchapter 4 (Construction Safety Orders); subchapter 5 (Electrical Safety Orders); and subchapter 7 (General Industry Safety Orders). The table below allows employers and employees to access specific regulations from these subchapters, as well as useful guidance materials, posters, and other resources. Note that some of these other resources are Fed OSHA documents that reference federal standards. They are provided only for general guidance purposes, and readers must refer to the corresponding Title 8, California Code of Regulations to determine compliance with California-specific requirements.

Employers are required to comply with all Cal/OSHA regulations that apply to their operations, even if not listed below. The list is meant to assist construction employers and does not detail all Cal/OSHA requirements. See complete list HERE.

Upcoming Webinars/Events

Prevailing Wage Seminar - May 14th - 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Webinar

Public Works Compliance 101 Course - May 16th - 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Webinar