The Assembly Labor & Employment Committee passed AB 1867, the Tracking Records and Complaints (TRAC) Act by a vote of 6 to 0 and AB 1870, Stopping Harassment and Reporting Extension(SHARE) Act by a vote of 6 to 0 . The SHARE Act will give victims of harassment in the workplace three years to file a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The TRAC Act requires employers to maintain records of sexual harassment complaints for 10 years to ensure that workplace sexual harassment claims are documented.
“The legislature, like many industries, has been grappling with changes in the wake of the #MeToo movement, particularly after the sexual misconduct allegations against members of our own body. However, these issues are not limited to the halls of government. We are having a larger society-wide dialog about sexual harassment and the evidence is there,” said Assemblymember Reyes. “One year is simply not enough time to bring harassment and discrimination claims forward. Workplace harassment creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive environment. These actions wreak havoc on its victims, and can cause lasting effects physically, mentally and emotionally. We cannot let the fear of retaliation and the psychological wounds caused by such actions to prevent victims from seeking justice.”
Speaking specifically on AB 1867, Assemblymember Reyes said, “For anyone, both the victim and the accused, we have to follow due process, but we must be fair to our victims. If the behavior has been there in the past and it is not being documented properly, that behavior could become a problem of the body and add to the culture lacking transparency ad protection. It is crucial that we have enough documentation to review bad behavior so that future incidents can be prevented. This bill will help ensure employers are taking appropriate steps to address sexual harassment in the workplace and will also help expose when there are repeat offenders.”
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is designed to protect employees from workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation base on protected characteristics such as sex and gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, age, religion, disability, and more.
Often, harassment based on gender, race, religious preferences or other protected characteristics leads to, or is connected with sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in the work or educational setting.
Under current law (Government Code § 12960) a victim of harassment must file a claim with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year from the date of the last incident of harassment. The FEHA requires employers to "take reasonable steps to prevent and correct wrongful (harassing, discriminatory, retaliatory) behavior in the workplace.
AB 1867 and AB 1870 now head to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.