Respect and Esteem Training
AB 1825, California’s mandatory sexual harassment training law (codified at Cal. Lab. Code § 12950.1), was adopted by the California legislature in 2004. Starting on January 1, 2006, all employers with 50 or more employees were required to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training once every two years for supervisors located in the state of California.
The Office of Human Resources at Azusa Pacific University, in compliance with the law and in order to provide a God-honoring working environment that encourages respect and esteem for each member of the community, requires Respect and Esteem Training at least every two years (within 30 days of hire and during each official training year, (2012, 2014, 2016, etc.)) for ALL faculty and staff employees, including full-time, part-time, and temporary employees at all APU locations. This policy is consistent with valuing the safety and comfort of each employee and striving to create respectful, productive workplace dynamics for all offices and departments.
Please help us maintain compliance with the law and protect one another by cooperating in a timely manner with these training mandates.
To begin the online training program, contact Human Resource's Workplace Learning at learning@apu.edu, or Esther Attebery, manager of workplace learning and retention, at (626) 815-4533. Please provide the following information:
- First and Last Name
- APU ID Number
- Title
- Office Extension
- Whether you are staff or faculty
Your information will be added to APU's learning management system and you will receive an email from Workplace Answers with a personal training link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies as a supervisor?
AB 1825 does not define “supervisor” for purposes of the training requirements. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), however, did provide a working definition which employers apply to AB 1825. This definition provides that a supervisor is any individual with the authority “to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees; or the responsibility to direct them; or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend that action” if the exercise of that authority requires the use of independent judgment [Cal. Govt. Code § 12926(r)]. Thus, titles alone do not determine whether an employee is a supervisor.
The regulations also note that attendance at harassment training does not necessarily imply that the employee is a supervisor or that a contractor is an employee of the employer.
Why must non-supervisors take this training?
To honor our cornerstones of Christ and community and our commitment to maintaining an appropriate environment for work and study, the university has decided to train all faculty and staff employees, both full and part-time, regardless of whether or not they are currently supervisors.
In addition, employers are still responsible under California and federal law to provide workplace harassment prevention training periodically to non-supervisory employees. The California FEHA requires employers to take “all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring.” (Cal. Govt. code § 12950.) According to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), a sexual harassment training program for all employees “is the most practical way to avoid or limit damages if harassment should occur despite preventative efforts.”
How do I know if I am due for training?
All new employees are required to take Respect and Esteem training within their first 30 days of employment. In addition, all employees must take the training at least every two years during APU's designated training years (2012, 2014, 2016, etc.). Human Resources will inform the APU community when the training period commences and when it ends.
How can I satisfy the training requirement?
Online training is available for all APU employees. To receive your personal training link, email learning@apu.edu and provide your first and last name, APU ID number, email, title, office extension, and whether you are faculty or staff. The online course consists of two hours of interactive instruction with a testing component. The results are recorded and retained by the Office of Human Resources.
