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New Laws for 2014: Two New Laws to Protect Unpaid Interns & Limit "Abusive Conduct" (CA)


Each state has a host of new employment and labor related laws that take effect in 2014. This series focuses on several new laws from around the country that are of particular interest.  In this instance, this note focuses on several new laws that will impact California employers.


AB 1443 - Protection for Unpaid Interns

In September, California enacted a new law, AB 1443, which amended California Government Code 12940 to add unpaid interns to the list of workers protected by California's anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws.  Employers are now prohibited from discriminating based on protected characteristics in the "selection, termination, training, or other terms" of unpaid interns.

The new law also prohibits harassment of unpaid interns based on protected characteristics and makes employers liable for sexual harassment of unpaid interns by non-exempt employees if the employer knew or should have known of the conduct but failed to promptly take correct action.


AB 2053 -  Anti-Bullying Protection

California also enacted a new law, AB 2053, which amended California Government Code 12950.1 and now adds an "abusive conduct" component to the mandatory sexual harassment prevention training that employers with more than 50 employees must provide to supervisors within six months of their taking on a supervisory position, regardless of whether the employee is hired or promoted into the position, and every two years thereafter.

Note, however, that this new amendment does not make "abusive conduct" unlawful in the employment setting.

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