Clarus Founder Debates California Hate Speech Law
California hate speech training law AB 1803 takes effect in 2028 after Clarus founder Niosha Shakoori debated its workplace impact.
Clarus Founder and Managing Partner Niosha Shakoori joined a debate-style panel at the 2026 California HR Conference hosted by the Professionals in Human Resources Association. The session examined AB 1803, then proposed legislation that would add anti-hate speech content to California’s mandatory workplace harassment prevention training. Shakoori drew on 25 years of employment law experience as the panel considered the bill’s need and practical effect. AB 1803 has since been signed into law and takes effect January 1, 2028.
Panel Examines Employer Duties
Shakoori appeared alongside legal and HR professionals Sherry Shavit and Dana Mayhew during PIHRA’s Spotlight Session. The discussion considered whether existing harassment prevention training and FEHA obligations already cover this conduct, and whether “hate speech” can be defined in a workable way.
The panel also considered how employers could put the requirements into practice, including how training content would be defined, where it would fit in compliance programs, who would deliver it, and how it could affect workplace conduct and investigations.
Clarus Focuses On Investigations
Shakoori has more than a decade of experience as in-house executive counsel for publicly traded companies, most recently as Vice President, Chief Employment Counsel at Cotality, formerly CoreLogic. She holds AWI-CH and SHRM-SCP certifications and serves as Co-Chair of AWI’s Advocacy Committee.
Since 2014, Clarus has conducted more than 1,000 impartial workplace investigations involving allegations including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, theft, fraud, breach of confidentiality and fiduciary duty, embezzlement, and other misconduct. Its investigators are attorneys who hold the AWI-CH certification.
Preparing For New Requirements
Clarus provides management-side workplace counsel, compliance advice, and workplace investigations for employers. The firm serves Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, startups, public agencies, and nonprofit organizations in California, New York, and Washington.
The firm partners with employers to understand new obligations early, think through their practical impact, and address workplace problems before they become business problems.
From an announcement by Clarus.
