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How to Handle
Harassment Complaints
Interview
the complainant, the supervisor, and other witnesses promptly
Ask
precise questions
Come
to a reasoned conclusion
Review
your religious harassment policy with the supervisor Explain that religious accommodations must be made Show the supervisor how reasonably to make accommodations
Tell
the supervisor a written notice will be placed in his file
Warn
the supervisor that repeated conduct will be disciplined If the conduct repeats, or worsens,
DISCIPLINE the supervisor!
Circulate your policy through the workforce as a reminder
Undertake
harassment prevention, or consider refresher training
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How do you get a harasser to STOP?
Just say the word: STOP!
61% of men and 60% of women report that telling a harasser to stop engaging in the offensive behavior worked.
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Employment Policies Primer
Policies must be
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Written
Easy to understand
Regularly circulated
Up to date
Accessible
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Preventing & resolving
legal claims
Prevention Programs
Investigations
Mediations & Negotiations
Legal Budget Management
610.647.4439
484.886.6006
BevilleMay@Comcast.Net
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Greetings!
We often hear about "zero tolerance" policies for harassment situations. But, what does this really mean? Is it zero tolerance if a guy in the mailroom posts "girlie" pictures, but just a wink and a nod if the CEO puts her hand in a male subordinate's lap? This edition of Prevent Claims! News will give you practical tips on how to handle a harassment complaint when it comes in the door -- whether it's sexual harassment, religious harassment, or harassment based on national origin. Read on to learn how best to defuse a harassment claim and prevent a costly lawsuit. Most importantly, enjoy these warm fall days while they last!
As always, thank you kindly for your support.Beville
Prevent Claims, LLC
Preventing and resolving legal claims.
610.647.4439
Prevention Programs ~ Investigations
Mediations & Negotiations
Legal Budget Management
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Zero Tolerance: Handling Harassment Claims
Be prompt, be thorough, and be fair!
Your new hire, a cheerful, observant Muslim, arrives in your office in tears. Her supervisor keeps making cutting remarks about her head covering. He also criticizes her for taking breaks to pray five times daily.
What do you do? Follow the How to Handle Harassment Complaints in the sidebar at left, and you'll be on your way to a fair solution!
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City of LA to Pay $1.43 Million
in Black Firefighter Harassment Case
Black firefighter Tennie Pierce was awarded nearly $1.5 million to settle his claims of racial discrimination and harassment, which included having dog food mixed with his spaghetti at an LA firehouse. The award was $1 million less than one authorized by the City Council before a public outcry ensued over scenes of Pierce himself hazing a gay firefighter.
This is not the first, nor is it likely to be the last harassment case against a city or town due to antics in the high pressure and close quarters of a firehouse. In any workplace where workers essentially live together, close ties -- and tensions -- run high.
For more information about the Pierce case and others involving firefighters, please visit: LA Weekly's, Tennie Pierce vs. Taxpayers.
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Your Company Does Have Policies,
Doesn't It?!
Current, well circulated ones, right?
If you swallowed hard when you read this headline, fear not. Better to
acknowledge your shortcomings to an e-Newsletter than to a jury under
oath!
Don't send your employees into a deep sleep at the sight of your employment policies! Make sure your policies are written in plain English. If some fancy outfit
wrote policies that read like the Code of Federal Regulations, dump
them! (The policies, that is.) Update your policies as needed. Out of date policies are only slightly better than no policies at all. The EEOC now recognizes unfair treatment of caregivers on the basis of sex, race, and disabilities. This needs to be part of your updated HR 'look.' (See EEOC Caregiver Enforcement Guidance.)
Make sure your harassment policy covers all forms of harassment, not just sexual harassment. Harassment policies should outlaw racial and religious harassment, as well as harassment based on sexual orientation, national origin, and the like.
Circulate your policies annually, and get employees to sign off on having read them. Consider going over one policy at a time during a "Lunch & Learn." Finally, post them to company intranets so they are easy to find when needed.
So dust off those policies, get them up to snuff, and get them out there. That way, the excuse, "I didn't know I couldn't ..." will get short shrift. And you can turn your attention to other matters.
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