California law requires that employers train all managers and supervisors in recognizing, remedying and preventing sexual harassment.  Our sexual harassment and discrimination training program not only meets these legal requirements, but also provides an engaging and interactive format which helps maintain audience attention and interest while reducing legal risk.  In addition to management training, we also provide sexual harassment training to non-managerial employees.

In our practice, we have found that many managers are technically skilled individual contributors who have been thrust into management positions with very little training and guidance in how to manage people.  To solve this educational gap, we have developed a training program for managers designed to provide them the substantive knowledge and practical skills to effectively manage people.  Our training on hiring, managing and terminating  employees teaches managers the skills they need to  reduce employment risk.  Our manager training sessions include practical instruction on what questions not to ask during an interview, managing expectations in the employment relationship, how to address performance issues, responding to employee misconduct, and managing the “complainer” employee.  This training program combines training in California legal requirements with the practical human psychology of managing people.

The protection of trade secrets and confidential information is increasingly vital to the viability of our clients’ businesses.  Our clients are concerned not only with protecting their own trade secrets and confidential information, but also with avoiding claims for misappropriation by competitors.  Oftentimes, however, front line employees and managers do not understand what constitutes a trade secret or what steps must be taken by an employer to preserve it.  Moreover, with the free movement of employees and the frequent competitor sharing of vendors and suppliers, the risk of misappropriation claims by or against any company is increasing.  To reduce such risk, we have developed a training program  designed to help our clients protect their own trade secrets while reducing the risk that claims of misappropriation are brought against them.  In this training module, employees are taught what constitutes a trade secret and how to protect it, how to hire  employees while minimizing risk of claims, how to interact with vendors, experts, and consultants without inadvertently misappropriating trade secrets, and how to respond when someone offers to share competitor trade secrets with them.

Wage and hour class actions continue to dominate California’s employment litigation.  Despite the growth of such claims, which range from failure to properly classify non-exempt employees to the failure to provide timely meal and rest period breaks, California employers continue to experience difficulty in ensuring compliance.  In this training session, we teach managers the basic wage and hour law that every manager should know.  We discuss proper classification of employees, how not to inadvertently destroy an otherwise valid exempt classification, the importance of providing meal and rest period breaks to non-exempt employees, and the top ten other wage and hour compliance issues that every manager should know.

Managing disability and leave laws continue to prove difficult for many employers.  As a result, disability and leave law related litigation continues to rise.  In this training session, managers are taught the basics of California leave law.  The class includes discussion of the California Family Rights Act, the Family & Medical Leave Act, workers’ compensation, the Americans With Disabilities Act and its California state counterpart, Paid Family Leave, military leave, kin care, school activities leave, school visits leave, domestic violence leave, jury duty, drug and alcohol leave, volunteer firefighters’ leave, and the host of other leave statutes that exist under state and federal law.  In addition, this training includes a detailed discussion of how to manage disabled employees, including complying with the requirements of engaging in the interactive process and determining reasonable accommodations.