In November 2014, the San Diego Union Tribune informed the community of the new state law taking effect Jan. 1, 2015 that now included in the trainings of Sexual Harrassment an addition to include workplace bullying. The hopes is to curb that behavior at the start and make the organizations more aware of the damaging effects bullying has on the employees. The legislation, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, requires that employers in California with 50 or more workers include lessons on anti-workplace bullying when they carry out state-mandated sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years.
Unlike sexual harassment, workplace bullying is not illegal, so long as it is not based on protected classes like race, religion, or sexual orientation. That means an employer is not legally liable should bullying occur in the workplace. Most organizations could still fire the offending employee. To read more about this article, here is the link: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2014/nov/02/workplace-bullying-sexual-harassment-training-laws/