Page 25 - December 31 2017 Reporter

Sexual Harassment

Three Resolutions You Should Make To Prevent Harassment

And Protect Your Organization In 2018.

by Aaron Gelb, Vedder Price
Aaron Gelb

The court of public opinion was quite busy in 2017 of harassment and review how employees can make
as a number of celebrities were judged guilty and found complaints. Managers, meanwhile, should be made
themselves without a job after accusations of sexual aware of the duties and responsibilities they have not
misconduct—not all of it confined to the workplace—were only to model the appropriate behavior but also what they
leveled against them. While few, if any, of these individuals are expected to do if they learn of inappropriate behavior
will ever see the inside of a courtroom, employers can and as well as how to respond if someone brings a concern
should expect the ongoing focus on sexual harassment to them. Last but not least, educating your managers
to empower employees across the country to come regarding the potential for personal liability (in certain
forward and lodge complaints internally and/or contact jurisdictions) will usually help ensure not only that they pay
attorneys who will send demand letters or file discrimination attention during the training session but that they conduct
complaints on their behalf. If you are committed to creating themselves appropriately going forward.
a harassment-free workplace and putting your organization No. 3: Respond Promptly and Thoroughly To
in the best position possible to defend against such claims Complaints
in the future, write down and keep these three resolutions: Having a state-of-the-art policy and thoroughly trained
No. 1: Review (and revise, if necessary) Your workforce will not do much good if you fail to properly
Harassment Policy respond when you receive a complaint. That means
If your organization does not already have such a that your organization must act quickly upon learning of
policy, put this article down and go hire someone who is the concern and take steps that are reasonable—given
qualified to draft one for you. Download a basic policy the circumstances—and intended to correct and prevent
from the internet if you must, but ideally you will work with the alleged behavior from occurring again. In order to
a human resources/legal professional who will customize avoid learning as you go, your organization should have
a policy that is appropriate for your workforce. Make individuals—preferably in human resources—whose
sure that the policy is written in such a way that it can be job it is to handle such complaints and who knows how
understood by everyone in your organization; translate to respond by virtue of prior training and experience.
the policy into other languages if you have a significant While much has been written about how to properly
number of employees who do not understand English well investigate harassment complaints, it is imperative that
enough to utilize the policy. Your policy should also provide your organization acts immediately upon receiving the
examples of what sort of conduct as well as comments complaint, takes interim steps to protect the complaining
constitute harassment and explain in specific detail how employee, and documents the steps taken to investigate
and to whom complaints should be made. Ideally, your the complaint. If the investigation leads to a conclusion
policy will include several different options to employees that an employee violated your harassment-free workplace
wishing to raise concerns including—if possible—an policy, something must be done. Many employers
online or telephone hotline. While you can encourage misapprehend the concept of zero tolerance, worrying
employees to identify themselves when making a complaint that they will have to terminate anyone and everyone who
or reporting an alleged concern, ideally, your organization runs afoul of the policy. That is not the case. Rather,
will provide an avenue for employees who wish to remain zero tolerance simply means that you do not tolerate
anonymous. harassment in the workplace and will take action to
prevent it from happening again. Your response should be
No. 2: Retrain Your Workforce
commensurate with the misconduct—serious misconduct
Training your employees and managers is another results in a lengthy suspension or termination, while
step you have already taken, hopefully. If not, make doing a minor violation prompts a lesser sanction such as a
so a priority during the first quarter of 2018. In a perfect verbal warning or even a simple note to file documenting
world, you will have one session for your managers and a coaching and counseling session with the offending
supervisors and another for your staff. There are a host employee.
of options available from professional trainers to human
resources consultants or attorneys. Much like your policy, If your organization can find the time and resources
the training will be more effective if it is designed with to revise its policy, retrain its workforce and respond
your workplace in mind; training for a hotel or restaurant whenever a complaint is received, it will be well on the way
will necessarily differ from training provided at a bank or to protecting its employees from unwelcome harassment
advertising agency. Regardless, the training should build and putting the organization in a better position to defend
off your policy, include in-depth discussions of the types against claims brought by employees dissatisfied with how
the organization responded.
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December 2017 IllInoIs RepoRteR