Those on farms now have to know much more about sexual harassment in the workplace. According to a report, the first of the year marked the start of a new bill, California Senate Bill 1087, which is aimed at reducing the amount of sexual harassment in the agricultural industry.
As someone working in agriculture, you need to know about the changes that this bill requires. As of the first of January, all workers must now go through sexual harassment prevention training. The training must be completed by supervisors as well. Additionally, the person with the agricultural license must also participate in at least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training every year, helping make sure the owner of the farming operation is also aware of what sexual harassment is.
An interested add-on with this bill is that supervisors must complete a Supervisory Employee Sexual Harassment Disclosure Statement. What that is, basically, is a confirmation that the supervisor has not committed an act of sexual harassment in the last three years. If the supervisor has committed such an act, then the license the owner of the company holds could be suspended or revoked if he chooses to hire that person.
As a worker, this should make you feel much safer at work, but that doesn’t mean no harassment will ever happen. Although California is cracking down on hiring those who have sexually harassed people in the past for work in agriculture due to the high numbers of people complaining of harassment in the field, if this happens to you, you need to make sure you’re heard and speak with someone about your legal rights.
Source: AG Professional, “Calif. requiring more sexual harassment training” Jan. 05, 2015