DOE seeks public input on new rules on bullying and harassment at Hawaii schools
By Mileka Lincoln, Hawaii News Now
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The state Department of Education would like your help crafting new rules for bullying and sexual harassment at public schools across Hawaii.
Over the next several weeks, DOE officials will be hosting public hearings at locations on four islands to gather community feedback on the proposed changes.
Last month, the Hawaii State Board of Education approved for public review updates for the DOE proposals to strengthen the student misconduct and discipline code — known to students as Chapter 19. Among the key changes is elevating bullying and cyberbullying to a Class A offense, the most serious category for disciplinary action.
Officials also want to add a new section titled Chapter 89 Civil Rights Policy and Complaint Procedures for Student(s) Complaints against Adult(s).
These proposals come on the heels of the release of a Hawaii School Health Survey in which more than 16,000 public middle and high school students participated that found fewer teens say they have been bullied at school over the last two years.
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California Employers Required To Provide Sexual Harassment Prevention Training To All Employees By January 1, 2020
by Jessica Golden Cortes and Judith Kong, Davis & Gilbert
In further statutory recognition of the #MeToo movement, California – like New York – has implemented more stringent training requirements for employers.
On September 30, 2018, California passed SB 1343, a bill requiring all California employers with five or more employees to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees – both supervisory and non-supervisory – by January 1, 2020 and biannually thereafter. The bill significantly expands existing California law, which previously only required employers with at least 50 employees to provide such training to supervisory employees every two years.
Employer Obligations
By January 1, 2020, California employers with five or more employees must provide:
– at least 2 hours of sexual harassment prevention training to all supervisory employees; and
– at least 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention training to all non-supervisory employees.
This training must also be provided within six months of the employee’s assumption of a supervisory or non-supervisory position (including hiring), as applicable. Employers who provide the required training to an employee after January 1, 2019 are not required to provide training again before January 1, 2020. After January 1, 2020, covered employers must provide sexual harassment prevention training to employees once every two years.
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Online comments suggest history of civil service bullying
by Simon Murphy, The Guardian
When the civil service’s diversity and inclusion champion, Dame Sue Owen, announced in a blog that a review was being launched into how bullying and harassment should be tackled, she may not quite have expected the response that awaited her.
Her piece, which was written in January and claimed the civil service had a “zero tolerance” policy towards the issue, was deluged with more than 120 comments, many from staff who said they had either witnessed or been subjected to bullying themselves.
The responses echo a separate Guardian investigation into workplace bullying in Whitehall, revealing that government departments and other publicly funded bodies have received at least 551 complaints of sexual harassment or bullying over the past three years.
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