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State of California’s New Anti-Harassment Training has a TJSL Connection

May 26, 2020

The State of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing launched its free anti-harassment training for non-supervisory employees and there is a Thomas Jefferson School of Law connection. Taking a leadership role in creating the training was our graduate Branden Butler (JD ’09), who serves as DFEH’s Deputy Director of Education and Outreach. Additionally, Associate Dean and Professor of Law Susan Bisom-Rapp served as a pro bono consultant on the project. Butler and Bisom-Rapp are acknowledged in the final credits slide.

According to DFEH’s press release: “…the new training is interactive and optimized for mobile devices and is accessible for persons with disabilities….It emphasizes the importance of creating and maintaining respectful workplaces and provides tools and strategies for bystanders to disrupt patterns of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior. The training also highlights the ways in which sexual harassment can intersect with other forms of discrimination, and includes a module on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.”

Finally, “[t]he training incorporates two short films written and directed by Sigal Avin, and Executive Produced by and starring David Schwimmer along with Zazie Beetz, Joseph Sikora and Grace Gummer.” The training can be accessed via this link: https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/shpt