Manager Training

Overview

Managers and supervisors play a critical role in maintaining a lawful, respectful, and productive workplace. At a 20-employee California cosmetology business, managers are often the first point of contact for employee concerns, scheduling decisions, and workplace issues. This section outlines required and recommended training, explains why consistent HR practices matter, and clarifies when to escalate issues to ownership or HR.

All managers and supervisors are expected to complete required training on schedule and participate in recommended training as directed by ownership.

Required California Training for Managers and Supervisors

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training (SB 1343)

California law requires supervisory employees at businesses with 5 or more employees to complete sexual harassment prevention training.

• Duration: 2 hours (supervisors); 1 hour (non-supervisory employees)
• Initial deadline: Within 6 months of assuming a supervisory role
• Renewal: Every 2 years thereafter
• Content must cover:
  • Definition of sexual harassment under California and federal law
  • Types of conduct that constitute harassment
  • Remedies available to victims
  • Strategies to prevent harassment
  • Abusive conduct in the workplace (AB 2053)
  • Harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation (AB 1825)
  • Bystander intervention
  • Practical examples
• Delivery: Training may be completed in person, online, or through a combination of methods. The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) offers a free online training at calcivilrights.ca.gov.
• Documentation: Keep a record of each manager's completion date, training provider, and certificate or acknowledgment. Retain records for at least 2 years.

Workplace Violence Prevention Training (SB 553)

California law (Labor Code Section 6401.9) requires employers to establish a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) and train all employees, including supervisors, on that plan.

• Initial training: Upon hiring or assignment to a new position, and before new exposures arise
• Renewal: Annually
• Managers must be trained on:
  • The workplace violence prevention plan and where to find it
  • How to report workplace violence incidents or threats without fear of retaliation
  • How to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence
  • Violent incident log requirements and how to review them
  • Corrective measures the business has implemented
  • How to recognize potential warning signs of escalating behavior
• Manager-specific responsibilities:
  • Ensure employees feel safe reporting concerns
  • Document all workplace violence incidents in the violent incident log immediately after the event
  • Report incidents to ownership promptly
  • Participate in any post-incident investigation

Recommended Training Topics for Managers

While not all of the following are legally mandated as standalone training, each topic directly reduces legal exposure and improves day-to-day management. Ownership will schedule these as part of ongoing manager development.

Lawful Interviewing

• Do not ask applicants about age, national origin, religion, marital status, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or arrest history during interviews
• Focus questions on the applicant's ability to perform essential job functions
• Use the same core questions for every applicant for the same role to ensure consistency
• Avoid questions about salary history (prohibited under California law)
• Document interview notes and retain them as part of the hiring record
• Understand that background check procedures must comply with California's "ban the box" rules (AB 1008) - criminal history inquiries are restricted until a conditional offer has been made

Consistent Application of Policies

• Apply discipline, attendance policies, and time-off rules the same way for all employees in similar situations
• Before issuing discipline, review whether comparable situations involving other employees were handled the same way
• Document the business reason for every disciplinary decision
• Inconsistent application of policies is one of the most common bases for discrimination claims - a manager who disciplines one employee for an infraction but overlooks the same infraction for another creates legal risk
• When in doubt about whether a situation has precedent, ask ownership before acting

Wage and Hour Compliance

California wage and hour law is among the most employee-protective in the nation. Violations are costly and common.

Meal Breaks

• Employees who work more than 5 hours are entitled to an uninterrupted 30-minute unpaid meal break
• The meal break must start before the end of the 5th hour of work
• If the employee works 10 or more hours, a second 30-minute meal break is required
• A missed, short, or late meal break triggers a 1-hour premium pay penalty per occurrence
• Managers must never instruct an employee to skip or shorten a meal break

Rest Breaks

• Employees are entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked (or major fraction thereof)
• A missed rest break triggers a 1-hour premium pay penalty per occurrence
• Managers must actively ensure employees are relieved for rest breaks

Overtime

• California overtime applies daily, not just weekly
  • Over 8 hours in a workday: 1.5x pay
  • Over 12 hours in a workday: 2x pay
  • Over 40 hours in a workweek: 1.5x pay
  • 7th consecutive day in a workweek: 1.5x for first 8 hours, 2x after
• Managers must not schedule employees to avoid overtime by manipulating shifts without ownership approval
• All overtime must be recorded accurately

Off-the-Clock Work

• Employees must be paid for all time worked
• Never ask an employee to work before clocking in, after clocking out, or during an unpaid meal break
• If an employee reports that they worked off the clock, that time must be compensated immediately - report it to ownership the same day

Timekeeping

• Managers are responsible for reviewing and approving employee timecards each pay period
• Correct any errors before payroll is processed
• Never alter an employee's timecard without their knowledge; if a correction is needed, document the reason

Recognizing and Responding to Harassment and Discrimination Complaints

• Any time an employee reports conduct that could constitute harassment, discrimination, or retaliation - even informally - treat it as a formal complaint
• Do not tell the employee to work it out themselves or minimize the concern
• Listen, take notes, and thank the employee for coming forward
• Do not promise confidentiality; explain that you are required to report the concern and that the business will investigate
• Do not take any adverse action against the employee (schedule changes, discipline, reduced hours) after they raise a complaint - this is retaliation
• Report the complaint to ownership immediately, the same day if possible
• Do not conduct your own investigation; that is ownership's or HR's responsibility

Warning signs of a hostile work environment:

• Repeated offensive jokes or comments about a protected characteristic (race, sex, religion, age, disability, etc.)
• Unwanted physical contact
• Employees avoiding a particular coworker or manager
• Sudden changes in an employee's performance or attendance following a personnel decision

Reasonable Accommodation Process (ADA / FEHA)

California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, medical conditions, pregnancy, and religious beliefs - and the obligation to engage in the interactive process.

• If an employee mentions a health condition, injury, pregnancy, or religious practice that affects their work, notify ownership immediately - do not make the accommodation decision yourself
• The interactive process is a collaborative, ongoing conversation between the employer and employee to identify effective accommodations
• Examples of accommodations that may arise in a salon setting: modified schedule, temporary light duty, modified workstation, leave of absence
• Never deny an accommodation request outright without consulting ownership
• Do not share an employee's medical information with coworkers
• Document all requests and the steps taken to respond

Documentation Best Practices

Good documentation protects the business and ensures fair treatment.

• Document every disciplinary conversation, even informal ones - include the date, what was discussed, the employee's response, and any agreed-upon next steps
• Use the business's standard forms for warnings and performance issues
• Have the employee sign documentation; if they refuse, note the refusal on the form and have a witness sign
• Store documentation in the employee's personnel file, not in a personal notebook or phone
• Do not destroy or alter records once a complaint, charge, or lawsuit has been threatened or filed
• Retain personnel records for at least 3 years after separation (California law requires inspection rights for current and former employees)

Workers' Compensation Injury Reporting

• Any work-related injury or illness - no matter how minor - must be reported to ownership the same day it occurs or the same day the manager learns of it
• Provide the injured employee with a DWC-1 claim form within one working day of the report
• Do not discourage employees from filing a workers' comp claim - doing so is illegal and can expose the business to serious penalties
• Document the incident: date, time, location, what happened, names of witnesses
• Cooperate with the workers' comp carrier's investigation
• If the injury requires emergency care, ensure the employee receives treatment immediately

Why Consistency in HR Practices Matters

Inconsistent management decisions are one of the primary reasons employment claims succeed.

Legal exposure: When one employee is disciplined for conduct that is overlooked for another, and those employees differ by race, sex, age, or another protected characteristic, the inconsistency becomes evidence of discrimination - regardless of the manager's intent.

Employee trust: Employees who observe inconsistent treatment lose confidence in management's fairness. This leads to disengagement, complaints, and turnover.

Defensibility: A business that applies its policies consistently and documents decisions can defend itself in audits, administrative complaints, and litigation. A business that cannot explain why it treated two similar situations differently cannot.

Practical steps for maintaining consistency:

• Before taking disciplinary action, ask: "Have I handled a similar situation the same way for every employee?"
• Consult ownership before making exceptions to established policies
• Use the same performance standards and evaluation criteria for all employees in the same role
• Apply scheduling and time-off policies uniformly - favoritism in scheduling is a frequent source of complaints
• When a new situation arises with no clear precedent, document the decision and reasoning so it can be applied consistently in the future

Record-Keeping Requirements for Training Completion

The business is required to retain records of training completion to demonstrate compliance with California law.

For SB 1343 sexual harassment prevention training:

• Retain records for a minimum of 2 years
• Records must include:
  • Employee name and title
  • Date of training
  • Training provider name
  • Training format (in-person, online, webinar)
  • Certificate of completion or signed acknowledgment

For SB 553 workplace violence prevention training:

• Retain records for a minimum of 1 year from the date of training
• Records must include:
  • Employee name
  • Date of training
  • Training topics covered
  • Name of trainer or training provider

For all other training:

• Retain a signed acknowledgment for each recommended training session completed
• Include the date, topics covered, and employee signature
• Store all training records in the employee's personnel file or a dedicated training log

Training log: A master training log should be maintained and updated each time training is completed. See the Training Schedule Template below.

When to Escalate to Ownership

Managers are expected to handle routine day-to-day issues independently. The following situations require immediate escalation to ownership - do not attempt to resolve these on your own.

Escalate the same day:

• Any complaint of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation (formal or informal)
• Any request for a disability, medical, or religious accommodation
• Any report of a workplace injury or illness
• Any workplace violence incident or credible threat
• Any employee who mentions consulting an attorney or filing a complaint with a government agency
• Any situation involving potential off-the-clock work or wage theft
• Any employee who refuses to follow a direct instruction on the basis of a protected characteristic or claimed legal right

Escalate within 24 hours:

• Receipt of a charge or complaint from the EEOC, California Civil Rights Department (CRD), California Labor Commissioner, or any other government agency
• A subpoena or legal document served at the workplace
• A situation where you are unsure whether a policy applies or how it should be applied
• An employee termination you are considering - do not terminate without ownership approval

When in doubt, escalate. It is always better to involve ownership early than to take an action that cannot be undone.

Manager Training Schedule Template

Use this template to track required and recommended training for each manager and supervisor. Update whenever training is completed.

Manager/Supervisor Name: ___________________________ Title: ___________________________ Date Hired into Supervisory Role: ___________________________

Annual Review Checklist for Ownership

• Confirm all supervisors have completed SB 1343 training within the required window
• Confirm all employees have completed annual workplace violence prevention training
• Confirm training records are stored in personnel files or the master training log
• Review whether any managers are due for renewal in the next 6 months and schedule accordingly
• Confirm all new supervisors hired in the past year completed SB 1343 training within 6 months of their start date
• Review any escalated complaints or accommodation requests from the prior year and confirm they were handled and documented appropriately

Training Modules & Exams

Printable training modules with knowledge exams are available for all 9 topics listed above. Each module includes instructional content, California law citations, salon-specific scenarios, and a multiple-choice exam. See the Forms & Documents page under Manager Training & Exams to access all modules, answer keys, and the completion log.

This section should be reviewed annually and updated to reflect changes in California law. Consult an employment attorney when questions arise about specific situations.

Last reviewed: March 2026