Sexual Harassment Training for Supervisors

Identifying and preventing sexual harassment can spare a company costly lawsuits and enhance employee morale.

Over 1.5 million sexual harassment lawsuits are filed in California annually. It costs an average of $300,000 in legal fees per claim, with an average jury verdict of $1 million, according to Employer-Employee. The legal and financial consequences of sexual harassment in the workplace are too great to ignore. Some states,including California, Connecticut and Maine, require employers to provide training and education about sexual harassment every two years for their supervisors.

Ignorance No Excuse

Employers can be held responsible for employee conduct.

As of 1998 and as a result of two U.S. Supreme Court rulings--in Faragher vs. City of Boca Raton and Burlington Industries Inc. vs. Ellerth--employers are legally responsible for the acts of their employees, such as sexual harassment, regardless of whether the employer knows about the occurrence or whether it has been reported.

Frequency

Employers generally enforce a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment.

The consistently high rate of sexual harassment in the U.S. workplace has spawned the need to regularly train supervisors in prevention. An estimated 40 percent of all women have been sexually harassed in the workplace, and an estimated 11.6 percent of all men, according to Employer-Employee. Employers need to be proactive in training their supervisors to maintain a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy.

What Is Sexual Harassment?

Welcome sexual advances do not constitute harassment.

According to Equal Rights Advocates, the legal definition of sexual harassment is "unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile environment." Conduct is not considered sexual harassment if it is welcome. Therefore, the victim must be clear about saying a clear "no" to all unwelcome advances.

Examples of Misconduct

Intimidating sexual conduct is sexual harassment.

Examples of sexual harassment include oral and written comments, such as jokes; repeatedly asking someone out when told no; physical assaults or inappropriate touching; staring or making derogatory facial expressions; and posters, drawings or emails of a sexual nature that are unsolicited and unwelcome.

California

California law forbids workplace sexual harassment.

A 2004 California law requires that all employers with 50 or more employees provide two hours of interactive sexual harassment training for supervisors every two years. Supervisors are trained to recognize sexual harassment and to implement preventive measures to eliminate it.

Training

A zero-tolerance policy should be clearly posted in the workplace.

Supervisors should be trained to disseminate knowledge to their employees about state and federal laws on sexual harassment. Supervisors need to be able to identify different forms of sexual harassment. They must be aware of their employer's duty to prevent sexual harassment, which includes distributing a written zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment in an employee handbook, as well as posting the general rules of conduct in the workplace where they easily visible, such as a break room, main office or cafeteria.

Supervisors need to be trained to perform timely investigations of allegations of abuse before they affect employee morale or cause legal problems. Supervisors are trained to inform upper management of any sexual harassment complaints received. Supervisors should never promise confidentiality where sexual harassment is concerned.

Zero Tolerance

Supervisors should be trained to enforce a definite, written zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy. It should be reviewed by a lawyer. The policy should clearly define sexual harassment, state the employer's zero tolerance of it, state the disciplinary action that will ensue for violations, and provide a way for employees to file complaints--i.e., hotline, human resources department, designated contact supervisor, or through another higher-up. The policy should state that it will investigate and enforce all reported misconduct. It needs to state clearly that any retaliation by the alleged perpetrator toward the victim is illegal.

References

• Employer-Employee: Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
• Equal Rights Advocates: Sexual Harassment at Work
• Compliance Training Group: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Resources

• HRTrain: What Supervisors Need To Know About Discriminatory Harassment