MCLE Self-Study: New FEHA Regulations Advance the Standard of Care for Prevention and Correction of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

By D. Jan Duffy and Emily Stehr

D. Jan Duffy, J.D. is the President of Management Practices Group, which specializes in education and consulting regarding effective HR and compliance practices. She frequently serves as an expert witness for plaintiffs and defendants regarding such matters as usual and reasonable steps for preventing and correcting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Before she became an associate attorney at Lawless & Lawless, Emily Stehr was a misdemeanor trial attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. She attended law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where she was a teaching assistant, research assistant, and law review editor.

Although sexual harassment in the workplace has been unlawful for decades, every few years, harassment allegations seem to hit the headlines yet again. Just recently, the University of California drew nationwide attention for nineteen apparently serious sexual harassment cases at its Berkeley campus alone.¹ Given its persistence, it would appear that workplace sexual harassment will continue until society and the workplace change dramatically. But the recognition that every employer has a responsibility to take effective action to prevent, correct, deter, and remedy sexual harassment in its workplace has evolved substantially and positively over time.