Dear Stanford Faculty and Staff Supervisors,
As you may know, effective January 1, 2005, California has a new law that mandates sexual harassment training for all supervisors. The law requires that all current supervisors complete a mandatory 2-hour sexual harassment training no later than January 1, 2006. After January 1, 2006, supervisors must complete on-going sexual harassment training within six months of becoming a supervisor and every two years thereafter.
Given the broad definition of "supervisor" under California law, all faculty members qualify as supervisors in light of their roles overseeing students, TAs, RAs, post docs, staff or other faculty. Consequently, each faculty member is required by law to complete the new training. In addition, any staff member who supervises other staff must comply with the required training. If you have been identified as a supervisor by your department, you must complete the training by December 31, 2005.
Many of you have already attended a sexual harassment briefing in your department in recent years (and in the Medical School, a Respectful Workplace Briefing). While we explored giving credit for this prior training, we found that it did not meet the precise content and durational requirements of the new law. As a result, you will still need to comply with this new training requirement, despite any previous sexual harassment training you may have received.
Our sexual harassment policy office has worked hard to make satisfying this requirement as easy and interesting as possible. They have come up with two very different training options:
1. If you choose the first option, you will attend a mock trial presenting a realistic sexual harassment case. You will be asked to participate as a member of the "jury," deliberating and discussing the case, and then issuing a verdict. The mock trial provides an interesting opportunity to witness the various viewpoints from others and engage in an interactive discussion regarding sexual harassment issues. The mock trial was presented twice this summer, and received excellent reviews from all participants (including myself) as an engaging way to obtain the mandated training. IMPORTANT: Space is limited in the mock trial sessions, and so you must reserve space if you choose to attend one of the sessions. Go to: http://harass.stanford.edu for trial dates and times and to sign up.
OR
2. The second option allows you to satisfy the requirement online. Stanford has arranged for online training from LawRoom, a premier web-based employment law service. The training consists of three 40-minute modules that can be completed from any computer at your convenience. It takes the requisite two hours, but may be completed over several sessions at any time of day or night. The three modules train managers to recognize harassment and discrimination, handle complaints, and avoid retaliation in related workplace situations. Unavoidably, this course is less tailored to our university setting, but many of you will nonetheless find it a more convenient way to satisfy the training obligation.
Remember, you need only complete one of these training options, but whichever you choose, you must complete it by December 31.
PLEASE NOTE:
In the next few days, you will receive an email invitation to attend the online course from LawRoom (admin@Lawroom.com). Please do not delete this email as spam. It has brief instructions on accessing the course, along with your ID and password.
If you elect to attend one of the mock trial sessions instead of taking the online training, you can ignore the emails from LawRoom reminding you to complete the online training. Once you've attended a mock trial session, your name will be taken off the email list and you will no longer receive reminders about the online program. Please do not register for the online course if you plan to attend a mock trial.
Once again, let me emphasize that this training is mandated by California law. The university has no discretion in having its supervisors -- faculty and staff -- satisfy this legal obligation. If you do not complete the training by December 31, 2005, you will not be able to remain in a supervisory role.
Please contact Charita Clay in the Sexual Harassment Policy Office at charita.clay@stanford.edu if you have questions or require additional information.
Sincerely,
John Etchemendy
Provost
