Carlsbad holds state-mandated workplace harassment prevention training for city employees

Carlsbad city employees attended a two-hour, state-mandated training on preventing workplace harassment, discrimination and retaliation led by Stephanie Lowe of the law firm Lieber Cassidy Whitmore and organized by Human Resources Director Judy Vaughn Kalinowski.

The training, described by Lowe as "a piece of the city's commitment" to an inclusive workplace, reviewed federal and California law, the city's Administrative Order No. 45, and practical steps supervisors and staff must take when a complaint is raised.

Lowe told the council and staff that the session covered Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, recent California updates including the state Equal Pay Act and new protected categories, plus administrative practice such as complaint intake, investigation, and confidentiality limits. She said the city policy (Admin Order No. 45) explicitly protects applicants, volunteers, independent contractors and employees and…