A new bill before the legislature would strengthen the hiring process for athletic department faculty for schools in the California State University System and hopefully identify candidates with prior sexual misconduct issues.
California Assembly Bill 810 takes aim at universities hiring coaches and staff members without fully investigating their past records. It’s an attempt to keep student-athletes better protected in the CSU system.
AB 810 and California State University Athlete Security
AB 810 seeks to strengthen hiring practices at all California colleges and universities when it comes to the employment of those in the athletic department. Candidates for administration positions in the department would also face this level of scrutiny. It would also require an approved level of background checks completed on athletic volunteers who need to be authorized.
The existing laws under the Student Athlete Bill of Rights already require this level of investigation as a part of hiring practices for some colleges. Any school that receives an average of $10 million or more in annual revenue from media rights for intercollegiate athletics must comply. AB810 goes further to create stricter requirements for the approval of athletic hires at all colleges and universities.
The bill describes the duty of all California colleges if this bill becomes law:
CA AB810 67459.
“During the process to hire an employee or authorize a volunteer in an athletic department of a postsecondary educational institution, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 67456, the postsecondary educational institution shall contact the former employer of the individual applying for employment or volunteer authorization to determine if the applicant violated any employment policies of the applicant’s former employer.”
The bill asks for these background checks to be performed by the California Department of Justice and the FBI. Investigators would be looking for any evidence of past sexual misconduct or any other types of misconduct.
It’s a safety precaution that’s already used by UC Davis when seeking new candidates for their athletic department.
Help for California Student-Athlete Sexual Harassment Victims
As allegations and convictions continue to arise over sexual harassment and other crimes on campuses, perhaps AB810 provides a route to stop some incidents before they happen.
Student-athletes and college faculty should be completely protected from sexual harassment, rape, and any form of assault. When criminal acts occur, they should never be covered up and victims should never be ignored.
When schools hire a staff member who has a history of misconduct and a student is hurt, universities and colleges can be held financially liable for their carelessness. They can also be held responsible for fostering an environment in an athletic department that could allow sexual misconduct to occur.
Maison Law aggressively protects victims after they’ve been sexually or physically assaulted by a coach or other athletic employee. We stand up to California State University system members and private colleges to demand full support for our clients.
Contact us today for a free and confidential case consultation. Our California Campus Sexual Assault Attorneys will answer your questions and help you decide on the best way to hold those responsible fully liable for your suffering.
