In yesterday's HR Care® Newswire we noted that the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission had issued modified rules on harassment training and education. Here are a few of those changes. To read more go to: http://www.fehc.ca.gov/pub/harassment_training.asp

* E-Learning: Supervisors must answer questions in a timely manner. Employers must provide supervisors with a mechanism for answering questions within a reasonable time period, but no less than two business days after the question is asked.

* Training must be completed in not less than two hours. The new regulations provide that e-learning programs may include book-marking features, as long as the actual e-learning program amounts to two hours.

* New supervisors may carry over training. A new supervisor who had received harassment training in compliance with AB 1825 within the prior two years only needs to be given a copy of, and be required to read and to acknowledge receipt of, the new employer's anti-harassment policy within six months of assuming the new supervisory position.

* Supervisors outside of California. The new regulations clarify that the law applies only to supervisors located in California.

* 50-Employee requirement includes employees outside California. The new regulations apply to employers with 50 or more employees. There is no requirement that the 50 employees or contractors all work or reside in California.

* Training year tracking. Employers may track compliance individually or by training year. Under the training year method an employer may designate a training year in which it trains all supervisory employees and thereafter retrains them by the end of the next training year. However, no supervisor shall be retrained any later than 6 months from the anniversary date of his or her last training.

* Retention of records. Documentation must include the name of the supervisor, date of training, type of training, and name of the trainer, educator, or instructional designer.

* Training my include other types of discrimination and harassment. The newly proposed regulations clarify that training should focus on prevention of sexual harassment and discrimination, however, the training may include discussion of other forms of harassment and discrimination within the required two hours.