San Diego Employer Services

We Can Help with Sexual Harassment Training & Workplace Investigations

California law now requires many employers to offer mandatory sexual harassment training. Former Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1343 into law, which requires employers with five or more employees to provide sexual harassment training by January 1, 2020. SB 1343 has certain requirements for supervisors and regular employees. 

If your business needs help with sexual harassment training, then you can contact our law office for assistance. The Gould Firm offers sexual harassment training services for businesses in San Diego and surrounding areas.

We also offer independent workplace investigation services. Attorney Evan Gould has years of experience helping businesses and employees with employment law matters. If you need an independent investigator for a workplace issue, you can reach out to us for assistance. 

Independent Workplace Investigations

We can also help businesses with independent workplace investigations. Our law firm can help ensure that your business is in compliance with California and federal employment laws. We can help with cases that involve sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, retaliation, pregnancy leave, wage disputes, and retaliation. 

Our attorney can help your business stay in compliance with laws that include:

• The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

• The Civil Rights Act

• California Minimum Wage Law

• California Overtime Pay Law

• California WARN Act

• Federal Family and Medical Leave Act

• California Family Rights Act

• California New Parent Leave Act

California is known nationwide for having the most effective and encompassing employment laws in the United States. While federal laws could also apply to the situation your business is facing, state laws are generally broader and offer far more legal protections to employees. FEHA is a prime example, as its disability discrimination requirements cover more employees than the ADA.



It is important that your business remains in compliance with these laws, or you could face monetary or legal consequences. Attorney Evan Gould can act as an independent, third-party investigator to help your business resolve issues relating to the laws mentioned above. 

Sexual Harassment Training in California

Most businesses in California are subject to the requirements in SB 1343, the state’s mandatory sexual harassment training law. If your business is covered by this law, then you must provide sexual harassment training to your supervisors, employees, and workers by January 1, 2020.

There are additional requirements your business must meet under SB 1343. Those requirements are listed below:

• Supervisors must receive more training than regular employees. Under SB 1343, supervisors must receive two hours of sexual harassment prevention training. Regular employees must receive one hour of training under the new law.

• Part-time employees, temporary workers, and contractors count towards the five-employee requirement under SB 1343.

• Your business must provide training within six months of a worker’s start date. In addition, you must provide training to employees every two years after the first training session. For temporary and seasonal employees hired to work for six months or less, training is required within 30 days of the start date or within their first 100 hours of work.



• Temporary workers who work on behalf of a temp agency for your company must receive this training through the temp agency.

You must comply with these requirements. Otherwise, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) may seek an order to force your business to comply with the law.

Neutral Fact Finding & Workplace Investigations

For most employers, it is not a matter of if an employee will report a claim or concern, but a matter of when. At some point, every California employer will receive some complaint or information from an employee or the public that must be investigated. Workplace concerns, complaints, and threats require a thorough investigation, which will help an employer to uncover and remedy a disruptive, illegal, or potentially dangerous situation.



A thorough investigation may also help to protect the employer from liability in the event of litigation by an employee alleging injury. A shoddy investigation, or no investigation, can exacerbate problems in the workplace, have a negative impact on employee morale, and expose an employer to liability for the acts of its employees. Ignoring complaints can create liability based on the employer’s failure to prevent or eliminate illegal conduct in the workplace that caused harm to an employee.

The most common claims that demand an employer’s attention and a thorough investigation include:

• Sexual harassment (“quid pro quo” and hostile work environment claims)

• Claims alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, national

• Origin, and ethnicity

• Claims alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on age, disability,



• And gender

Mr. Gould is well versed in the best practices for workplace investigations and takes great effort to investigate a clients’ workplace issue in a discrete, timely, and confidential manner. Mr. Gould will provide employers with a summary of findings, along with a well-written and documented investigative report to help employers make informed decisions and document the fact they acted promptly and took the complaint or concern seriously.