Press Release

Contact: David Carew
(615) 661-0249, ext. 8077
dcarew@mleesmith.com

New 'Stop Sexual Harassment: Interactive Training for California Supervisors' DVD/video-based program helps Golden State employers meet their new, legally mandated training responsibility

NASHVILLE, TN, July 1, 2005 - Time is running out for California employers who must comply with the state's tough new sexual-harassment prevention training law (AB 1825). Signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger on September 30, 2004, AB 1825 mandates that all employers operating in California and employing 50 or more people must provide supervisors with two hours of sexual harassment-prevention training every two years. The first round of training must be completed in 2005. Employers who fail to comply are subject to heavy fines of $200 per employee per pay period.

But there is an even more compelling reason to comply-lawsuit protection. According to a nationwide survey of HR professionals recently reported in 'Human Resource Executive' magazine, 68% of those surveyed said their company had handled a sexual harassment complaint in 2004. The magazine also reported that employers now LOSE 70% of employment-related lawsuits, with average damages surging over the $500,000 mark.

To help California employers comply as quickly and easily as possible, M. Lee Smith Publishers has introduced Stop Sexual Harassment: Interactive Training for California Supervisors. This new DVD/video-based training program is specifically designed to help California employers comply with state law AB 1825. It retails for $997.

In an attention-grabbing, informative, authoritative format, the training program provides everything supervisors need to know about common-and uncommon-forms of sexual harassment, and exactly how to stop them.

The program includes four key components :

1. DVD or VHS video (90-minute). An entertaining, educational video featuring fast-paced vignettes and concise commentary from leading experts. Frequent discussion breaks are built into the presentation.

2. Trainer's Manual. Loaded with discussion questions, handouts, and more. The video and discussion covered by the trainer's manual are specifically designed to help meet the two-hour training requirement of California state law AB 1825.

3. CD-ROM. A separate disk containing overhead slides and a customizable Certificate of Completion for those taking the training.

4. "Getting Started" Guide, featuring easy-to-read instructions, to help HR professionals and other trainers begin training quickly and smoothly.

'Stop Sexual Harassment' also enables supervisors to self-train on a computer, using the interactive, individual version of the program.

About the Hosts

'Stop Sexual Harassment: Interactive Training for California Supervisors is hosted by attorneys Mark Schickman and Linda Walton.

Mark Schickman is the highly respected editor of the monthly newsletter 'California Employment Law Letter. He is an attorney in the San Francisco offices of Freeland Cooper & Foreman, and a member of the Employers Counsel Network. Over the past 30 years, Mr. Schickman has litigated every kind of employment matter. He advises and counsels employers to ensure compliance with applicable laws, avoid costly lawsuits, and defend against challenges to policies and procedures. He has defended leading corporations against claims of sexual harassment, age discrimination, and discrimination under FMLA.

Linda Walton has extensive experience representing corporate and institutional clients in employment law disputes. She has defended a six-count whistleblower/discrimination charge, a hostile environment sexual harassment claim, and in Brown v. UPS, sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation claims. She also defended one of America's leading aerospace companies against charges of same-sex sexual harassment, religious discrimination, and retaliation in Johansen v. The Boeing Co. She is a lively, engaging, in-demand speaker for executive and management training in employment law. She is Of Counsel in the Perkins Coie law firm's Seattle office.

ABOUT M. LEE SMITH PUBLISHERS LLC

Founded in 1975, M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC is the only company in America that produces a state-specific workplace law newsletter for all 50 states. The newsletters are produced under the umbrella of the Employers Counsel Network, a nationwide network of law firms practicing employment law in each of the 50 states plus Canada. The company also produces other newsletters, national workplace law audio seminars and conferences, and other information products for HR professionals, business people, and attorneys.

For additional information, or to schedule an interview with Mark Schickman, please call David Carew at (615) 661-0249, ext. 8077
E-mail: dcarew@mleesmith.com
For online information visit www.HRhero.com/Harass