Lawmakers' sex harassment trainings like '4th grade lecture'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When Assembly lawmakers met in November to discuss ways of improving their policies for preventing and responding to sexual harassment, Democratic Assemblyman Ken Cooley had an idea: Ban cellphones from the two-hour harassment training lawmakers must attend.
It seemed a trivial suggestion for addressing such a serious problem. But interviews and documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal there's truth in what his comment hinted at — many lawmakers aren't deeply engaged with the trainings aimed at preventing the type of inappropriate behavior that forced two lawmakers to resign in the last month.