Lawmakers’ sex harassment trainings like ‘4th grade lecture’
SACRAMENTO (AP) — When Assembly lawmakers met in November to discuss ways of improving their policies for preventing and responding to sexual harassment, Democratic Assemblyman Ken Cooley had an idea: Ban cellphones from the two-hour harassment training lawmakers must attend.It seemed a trivial suggestion for addressing such a serious problem. But interviews and documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal there’s truth in what his comment hinted at — many lawmakers aren’t deeply engaged with the trainings aimed at preventing the type of inappropriate behavior that forced two lawmakers to resign in the last month.
“Some people do take it seriously — and some people are on their phones, some people are cracking jokes,” said Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens and chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus. “I would say the large majority of people are not as attentive.”
The California Legislature has been soul-searching over how it handles sexual harassment since nearly 150 women signed a letter in mid-October saying such behavior is pervasive at the Capitol but women don’t report it because they fear retaliation. Two Democratic Assemblymen from Los Angeles, Raul Bocanegra and Matt Dababneh, chose to resign after allegations from multiple women went public. Both deny wrongdoing. Democratic Sen. Tony Mendoza of Artesia, meanwhile, has refused calls to step aside while the Senate investigates claims he acted inappropriately toward three of his female subordinates.
California law requires lawmakers and legislative staff attend sexual harassment training every two years, just as private-sector employees in supervisory roles do. For lawmakers, the training is run by outside lawyers with expertise in employment law. Across the nation, policies on sexual harassment and training requirements vary. The Texas House, for example, is requiring sexual harassment training for the first time in January, while Colorado is considering holding its existing training once a year instead of every other.
The California training is well-intended, lawmakers said, but poorly designed to fit the Legislature’s needs. While it offers hypothetical but realistic scenarios, such as a boss asking out a subordinate, it doesn’t drill down enough on the unique power dynamics in the Capitol among lawmakers, lobbyists and staff members that women say make it difficult for them to avoid or report harassment.