California’s new regulations concerning employment discrimination come into effect soon. Briefly, they require beefy policies and supervisor training concerning reporting discrimination and harassment. Naturally, they include protection for sexual orientation and gender identity. General “abusive conduct” is also covered.

Also of note, however, is how California is dealing with the application of its regulations to employers with employees outside California. In part of the definition of “employer,” the regulations say: “[E]mployees located outside of California are not themselves covered by the protections of the Act if the wrongful conduct did not occur in California and it was not ratified by decision makers or participants located in California.” Translation: if you have HR or managers in California who are responsible for employment actions occurring elsewhere, agency action and lawsuits based on those employment actions might arise in California, under California law. Be prepared!