California to Require Anti-Hate Speech Training Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | TotalSource - WFN (State Alerts) Key Takeaways Impacted Employers: Employers with five or more employees. Effective Date: January 1, 2028 Summary: California has enacted legislation requiring employers with five or more employees to include an anti-hate speech component in their existing harassment prevention training program beginning January 1, 2028. Next Steps: Covered employers should continue complying with California's existing harassment prevention training requirements and monitor developments related to the new anti-hate speech training mandate. Before January 1, 2028, employers should review their training programs to ensure the required anti-hate speech content is incorporated into their biennial training courses. The Details Background Under state law, employers with five or more employees must provide at least two hours of harassment prevention training to all supervisory employees and at least one hour of harassment prevention training to all nonsupervisory employees. The interactive training must address not only the prevention of sexual harassment, but also abusive conduct and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. New nonsupervisory employees must receive the training within six months of hire. New supervisory employees must receive the training within six months of the assumption of a supervisory position. Seasonal, temporary, and other employees who are hired to work for less than six months must be provided the training within 30 calendar days after the hire date or within 100 hours worked, whichever occurs first. What’s Changing on January 1, 2028? Beginning January 1, 2028, covered employers must also include anti-hate speech training as a component of the required harassment prevention training. Anti-hate speech training must provide supervisors and employees with practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on the protected characteristics listed in Government Code Section 12940 (a). The law states that a training that includes information about the prohibition against unlawful harassment and the prevention of abusive conduct that is based on those protected characteristics satisfies the requirement. The law doesn’t increase the required training duration and doesn’t require a separate training course. Next Steps Employers with five or more employees should continue complying with California's existing harassment prevention training requirements and monitor developments related to the new anti-hate speech training mandate. Before January 1, 2028, employers should review their training programs to ensure the required anti-hate speech content is incorporated into their biennial training courses. Print