Here are four ways to manage sexual harassment in the workplace.
No matter the size of your workforce, the first step to preventing workplace harassment is creating an anti-harassment policy that details both unacceptable and acceptable behaviors. If you choose to prohibit employees from dating one another, this is the place you’d put that in writing.
A clear harassment policy lets your employees know what you will or will not tolerate and that you take sexual harassment seriously. The policy should also include the following:
Make sure you communicate and review the policy in detail, and then have employees sign to acknowledge they have read and understand it. Keep the signed acknowledgement in each employee’s personnel file. In the event you ever need to defend your company against a harassment claim, the fact that you have a policy you can prove your employees know about, will help your case.
Assure employees they can report an incident of sexual harassment without fear of retaliation. Anti-discrimination laws prohibit employers from taking adverse action against employees who file harassment complaints or participate in an investigation. Adverse action includes demoting an employee, reducing his or her salary or even giving a negative performance appraisal when one isn’t warranted.
Implement anti-harassment training programs that go beyond your policy. It’s important employees understand the basic definition as well as the types of sexual harassment.
By definition, sexual harassment can include all of the following:
Harassment becomes unlawful when:
Training your leadership team about sexual harassment policies and procedures is an important component of managing sexual harassment. Meet with them separately from the rest of the staff and focus on making sure they understand how to recognize harassment, respond appropriately and prevent it when possible.
Train supervisors to take immediate and appropriate action when an employee makes a complaint. Conducting a thorough investigation minimizes potential damages to employees – and your company.
Do you have additional questions about how to protect yourself and your employees? Be sure to check out our webinar on sexual harassment in the workplace.
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