California’s AB 1803 adds a new content requirement to harassment prevention training. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 27, 2026, the law requires covered employers with five or more employees to include anti-hate speech content in their California training beginning January 1, 2028.
Companies should review their programs and ask: Would employees recognize hateful conduct? And would their managers know when to step in? The answers can tell you a lot about how well your training prepares people for real workplace situations.
Why California Is Acting Now
California’s new law comes amid concern about the rise in hate across the state. In announcing AB 1803, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal pointed to a California Civil Rights Department estimate that 2.6 million Californians experienced at least one act of hate between 2022 and 2023. More than one in three of those individuals reported that it happened at a business location.
Lowenthal, who authored the bill, said the goal is to help employees understand their rights and feel empowered to report verbal harassment. AB 1803 builds on the state’s existing harassment prevention training requirements to help employees recognize and respond to hate-based conduct.
What Does Hate Speech Mean at Work?
When employees think about harassment, they may picture sexual comments or unwanted advances. But hate speech and other conduct targeting someone’s race, national origin, religion or another protected characteristic can also contribute to workplace harassment.
So, what does hate speech look like at work? The term generally describes expression that attacks or demeans people because of characteristics such as race, religion, national origin or sex. AB 1803 focuses on workplace speech that attacks, humiliates or incites hatred against people based on legally protected characteristics. Examples include racial slurs and degrading statements portraying people of a particular nationality as inferior or untrustworthy.
Under federal law, unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic can create an unlawful hostile work environment when it is severe or pervasive enough.
For employees, the message should be simple: You do not need to decide whether something is illegal before raising a concern.
Would Your Team Recognize the Concern?
During a meeting, an employee says people from a colleague’s country cannot be trusted with customer accounts. The colleague goes quiet. Nobody challenges the statement, and the manager moves to the next agenda item.
What does that silence communicate? Will the stereotype influence assignments? Can the colleague trust that their work will be judged fairly?
Now consider a different situation. An employee shares a meme showing people of a certain religion as dangerous and unwelcome. Several coworkers add laughing reactions. An employee who practices that religion stays silent, unsure how speaking up will affect their working relationships.
Would the manager recognize the hostility, or dismiss it as humor because nobody complained?
Both situations deserve attention. Silence doesn’t mean someone is comfortable, and laughter doesn’t mean the behavior is welcome.
These situations also show why knowing the definition of harassment isn’t enough. Employees and managers need to recognize concerning behavior and know how to respond, whether it’s a single incident or comments that have become so common no one questions them.
When behavior like this goes unaddressed, working relationships can suffer. Employees may become less productive or decide to leave. If the conduct amounts to unlawful harassment, the organization may also face complaints, lawsuits and big costs. Across the country, the EEOC received nearly 36,000 charges alleging workplace harassment in fiscal year 2024.
5 Things to Do Before January 1, 2028
You don’t need a separate course or additional training hours to meet AB 1803’s requirements. But you should review your current program to make sure it addresses the required content.
Even if your organization doesn’t have employees in California, this is a good opportunity to consider how your training addresses hate speech and other identity-based conduct.
Whether you’re preparing for California’s new requirement or reviewing your program more broadly, these five steps can help:
- Review your current harassment prevention training. Work with your provider and legal team to confirm the content addresses your workforce and applicable requirements. Check related policies for consistency, identify gaps and establish when any needed updates will be available. Ask your provider when any needed updates will be ready.
- Give employees more than a definition. Use recognizable workplace situations involving hate speech, degrading comments, stereotypes and other hateful conduct. Let employees work through what they notice and what they could do next, whether they encounter one serious incident or a developing pattern.
- Prepare managers to act. Clarify their responsibilities when they observe conduct or receive a report. Give them opportunities to practice addressing behavior, escalating concerns and avoiding responses that minimize the issue.
- Make reporting options clear. Explain where employees can report conduct they experience or witness, including options outside their direct manager. Make clear they do not need to prove violations or confront someone before seeking help. Explain what happens after a report and the protections against retaliation.
- Set your timeline and keep reinforcing. Decide when any needed training updates will be in place. Then use employee questions, reporting trends and learning results to identify where short reminders or additional guidance would help.
