What Employee Training Is Required in California?

Required employee training in California covers sexual harassment prevention, workplace injury and illness prevention, workplace violence prevention, hazardous chemical and bloodborne pathogen safety, emergency action plans, and a handful of industry-specific topics. The exact mix depends on how many people you employ, what they do, and where they do it. Below is what applies, when it has to happen, and what the records need to show.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

Every California employer with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training under Government Code section 12950.1.¹ Supervisors need at least two hours. Non-supervisory employees need at least one hour.² The training must be interactive, not a passive video playing in the background.

Deadlines depend on the role:

New hires: within six months of their start date.
Newly promoted supervisors: within six months of assuming the role.
Seasonal or temporary workers employed under six months: within 30 calendar days of hire or 100 hours worked, whichever comes first.
Everyone else: retraining at least every two years.¹

Content must cover federal and state harassment laws, remedies available to victims, practical examples addressing gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and abusive conduct, meaning behavior a reasonable person would consider hostile or intimidating even when it falls short of unlawful harassment.¹ The California Civil Rights Department offers a free online course that satisfies the requirement.²

The mandate applies to every employee working in California, including remote workers based at home. There is no carve-out for remote arrangements. For e-learning programs, a qualified trainer must have built the content and must be reachable to answer employee questions within two business days.³

Injury and Illness Prevention Program Training

Every California employer, regardless of size or industry, must maintain a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program under Labor Code section 6401.7.⁴ A one-person shop and a 10,000-employee warehouse both need one, and the IIPP is the backbone that most other safety training obligations attach to.

Training under the IIPP has to happen at four moments: when the program first launches (every current employee), when a new employee starts work involving an identified hazard, when an existing employee moves to a different job with different risks, and whenever new equipment, chemicals, or processes introduce a hazard employees haven’t been trained on. Content must cover how safety information is communicated at the company, how to report unsafe conditions, and the specific hazards of the employee’s job. For workers who spend time outdoors, the IIPP must also incorporate Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention standard, covering how to recognize heat-related symptoms, the importance of water and shade breaks, and emergency response steps.⁵

Records and Language

Keep a record of each employee’s safety training showing the employee’s name, the date, the type of training, and who provided it. Retain those records for at least one year. If a worker leaves before completing a year, you can hand the records over to them at termination rather than keeping copies.⁵

Safety training has to be delivered in a language employees actually understand. If day-to-day work instructions go out in Spanish, the safety training must too.⁶ This applies across every Cal/OSHA training obligation, not just the IIPP.

Workplace Violence Prevention Training

Since July 1, 2024, nearly all California employers must maintain a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and train the full workforce on it under Labor Code section 6401.9.⁷ The mandate applies broadly, with narrow exceptions for certain healthcare settings covered by separate Cal/OSHA standards and for employees who telework from a location of their own choosing that the employer does not control.

Training must happen when the plan is first put in place and then every year after that. Required topics include:

The plan itself: where to find it and what it says.
Reporting procedures: how to report incidents or threats to the employer and to law enforcement, with assurance that reports won’t trigger retaliation.
Hazard identification: how to recognize violence hazards specific to the employee’s work area and duties.
Incident log access: how to request and obtain copies of the workplace violence incident log.

Employees and their representatives can request copies of the incident log and other plan records at no cost, and the employer must provide them within 15 calendar days. The incident log itself must be kept for five years. Training records must be kept at least one year and must document the training date, a summary of what was covered, trainer qualifications, and the names and job titles of everyone who attended.⁷

Hazardous Chemical and Bloodborne Pathogen Training

Federal OSHA standards apply in California through Cal/OSHA adoption, and two of the most common training triggers involve hazardous chemicals and bloodborne pathogens.

Hazard Communication

If workers might encounter hazardous chemicals on the job, they must be trained under the Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200). Training is required when an employee first starts working with or near hazardous chemicals and again whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced. Content must cover how to detect chemical releases, the health and physical hazards present, protective measures, and how to read safety data sheets and container labels.⁸

Bloodborne Pathogens

Employees with potential occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials must be trained when first assigned to duties that create that exposure and at least once a year after. Repeat the training whenever new tasks or procedures change the nature of the exposure.⁹ Content must cover the diseases these materials can transmit, control methods, the hepatitis B vaccine, and what to do after an exposure incident. This isn’t limited to healthcare. Janitorial staff, first-aid responders, and anyone who might reasonably contact blood or bodily fluids on the job may be covered.

Emergency Action Plan Training

When any OSHA standard requires a workplace to have an emergency action plan, the employer must train every covered employee on it. The plan must be written and available for review, though employers with 10 or fewer workers can communicate it orally. Training is required when the plan is first developed, when an employee is initially assigned to a job the plan covers, when their responsibilities under the plan change, and whenever the plan is revised.¹⁰ At minimum, employees need to know evacuation procedures and their assigned exit routes.

Industry-Specific Requirements

Food Handler Certification

Workers who prepare, store, or serve unpackaged food must obtain a California Food Handler Card under Health and Safety Code section 113948. The card requires passing an accredited food safety training course and assessment, and it stays valid for three years regardless of whether the employee changes employers during that period.¹¹ The cost to employees is generally under $10.

Mandated Reporters of Child Abuse

California classifies a wide range of professionals as mandated reporters under Penal Code section 11165.7: teachers, school administrators, daycare staff, youth program workers, healthcare providers, social workers, peace officers, and clergy members, among others. The list catches roles many people wouldn’t expect, including athletic coaches at private schools, commercial film processors, and HR employees at businesses that employ minors.¹²

Public school districts, county offices of education, state special schools, and charter schools must provide the training annually. Licensed childcare facilities have a tighter window: new administrators and employees must complete it within their first 90 days. For mandated reporters in other settings, the law strongly encourages training but does not set a mandatory refresher frequency.¹²

Warehouse Distribution Center Quotas

Under Assembly Bill 701, employers that operate warehouse distribution centers must give each employee a written description of every production quota that applies to them, spelling out the number of tasks or volume of materials expected within a given time period and the consequences for falling short. New hires must receive this information when they start. If an employee believes a quota prevented them from taking required meal or rest breaks or caused a safety concern, they can request a written copy of the applicable quotas and their personal work-speed data from the most recent 90 days.¹³ Retaliation against workers who ask is prohibited.

Training Time Has To Be Paid

All time employees spend in mandatory training counts as hours worked under California law. It must be paid at the regular rate, and if the hours push the employee past eight in a day or 40 in a week, overtime rules apply. Requiring employees to complete training on their own time without pay is a wage violation. This holds for every training discussed above, from a two-hour harassment session to an annual workplace violence refresher.

1
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12950.1
2
California Civil Rights Department. Civil Rights Department Reminds Employers and Employees to Complete Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
3
Civil Rights Department. Sexual Harassment Prevention Training: Information for Employers
4
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 8 CA ADC 1509 – Injury and Illness Prevention Program
5
California Department of Industrial Relations. Injury and Illness Prevention Program
6
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Training Standards Policy Statement
7
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 6401.9
8
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hazard Communication
9
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Bloodborne Pathogens Standard Fact Sheet
10
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 1910.38 – Emergency Action Plans
11
Justia. California Code Health and Safety Code Article 2 – Employee Knowledge
12
Child Welfare Information Gateway. Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect – California
13
California Department of Industrial Relations. Frequently Asked Questions on Warehouse Quotas (Assembly Bill 701)