With all the news surrounding sexual harassment in recent months, employers should be clear about expectations for allowed workplace behavior and supervisors should have regular training to ensure they understand their role in providing a safe workplace for all employees. 

Employers should have a written policy that defines sexual harassment, including specific examples relevant to the workplace, and states that it will not be tolerated. All employees should be trained on the policy and be aware of the complaint process, including who to report the incident to if the immediate supervisor is involved in the incident (e.g., HR, Department Manager, etc.). Supervisors and managers should attend the training on the policy with their employees to show management’s commitment.

Employers should also consider providing an opportunity for employees to report anonymously.

The policy should also describe the disciplinary actions, up to and including termination, which may be taken if inappropriate behavior is found to have occurred. The policy should also state that retaliation against anyone filing a complaint or participating in an investigation will not be tolerated, and that anyone found to have retaliated against another employee will be disciplined, up to and including termination. 

Supervisors should be trained when hired into a supervisory role, when first promoted to a managerial role and periodically thereafter so they are familiar with company policy on prohibited conduct and the proper procedure for addressing complaints. 

Please note that certain states, such as California, have a more rigorous training requirement so be aware of your specific state’s rules on this topic. 

If notified of a complaint, a process should be in place for a complete, thorough, and timely investigation of the incident. Detailed statements should be collected from the complaining person, the alleged harasser(s), and witnesses to determine if the allegations are supported. Good documentation is imperative in these cases. You may wish to call UEA’s Employer Helpline to discuss your initial steps in an internal harassment investigation.

If the investigation leads to the conclusion that inappropriate behavior occurred, employers should take immediate and appropriate corrective action in order to protect their employees and limit their liability. Employers should avoid reaching legal conclusions that a hostile work environment or sexual harassment has occurred. The better approach is to document that there was a violation of the company’s policies and inappropriate behavior occurred.

An employee may report alleged sexual harassment and request that his/her supervisor keep it confidential and/or not take any action to address it. The supervisor needs to advise this employee that management is obligated per policy and legally to take action to investigate and address allegation of sexual harassment. The supervisor should also stress to the employee that all employees involved in the investigation will be given explicit instructions not to retaliate against the employee. The complaining employee should be told to report any concerns regarding retaliations to his/her supervisor immediately. The employer’s written policy should include this information to advise employees in advance of this requirement.

To support our members, UEA offers both onsite and online Harassment prevention training. Contact us to learn more about these options.

For an in-depth discussion of sexual harassment in the workplace, read more in UEA’s HR Beat.