California Legislature Passes Sexual Harassment Bills

The #metoo movement has been active in California. The goal of the movement is to bring attention to the sexual harassment that people endure at work. It also demonstrated that this type of behavior was an accepted part of the workplace in many industries and that it needed to stop. However, bringing attention to it and speaking out against it is one thing, but actual changes needed to be made. It appears that the movement has achieved that goal in the California legislature.

The legislature recently passed multiple bills that are designed to stop the various parts of employment contracts that make it difficult for victims to come forward. One bill would prohibits non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases designed to keep settlements secret. Another would ban forced arbitration agreements. Companies also would not be allowed to have employees sign releases of liability for bonuses or other incentives. The legislature also passed one that would expand the statute of limitations for these cases from one to three years. Also, almost all companies would now have to comply with sexual harassment training programs.

As of right now though these bills have just been approved by the legislature and have not been signed into law by the governor. These bills are designed to make big strides forward in trying to rid sexual harassment from being the norm. But, the laws will be broken and some employees will or are currently still experiencing sexual harassment. These victims do have rights though and may be entitled to compensation from companies who are not properly regulating the behavior at their companies.

While major steps are being taken by the California legislature to respond to the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, there are still many victims that have been affected by it. These people may be entitled to compensation though. This compensation can include back pay or other forms of lost income due to the harassment. It can also include compensation for emotional distress or other issues caused by the harassment. Experienced attorneys understand workers’ rights and may be a useful resource.