In September, along with many other new employment bills, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 2338, which includes a provision requiring minors 14-17 years of age and their parents/guardians to receive sexual harassment prevention training prior to the issuance of an entertainment work permit by the Labor Commissioner (with few exceptions, such permits are required in order for a minor to appear in any television show, movie, recording, etc.)

The new law provides that the training “shall consist of training administered by a third-party vendor, on-site, electronically, via Internet Web site, or other means” and must cover, at a minimum, the components specified in the Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s informational pamphlet on sexual harassment (Form 185).

The new law raises a number of questions, including who is responsible for providing the training (a prior draft of the bill required the Labor Commissioner to provide the requisite training for a $25 fee, but that language was removed from the final version that was passed); whether the training requirement applies only to the issuance of 6-month entertainment work permits or whether it also applies to 10-day temporary permits; and the required length of the training. According to its Van Nuys office (which is where the Entertainment Work Permit Unit is located), the Labor Commissioner will not have answers to these questions until it has developed appropriate guidelines regarding the new law.  The Labor Commissioner is in the process of developing guidelines which it anticipates will be ready for public response in the next few months.

Notably, the law goes into effect on January 1, 2019, so there will be some degree of uncertainty prior to the issuance of the aforementioned guidelines.

Erica Parks contributed to this article.