Many Corporations are realizing more and more how serious the allegations or charges of Sexual Harassment, Discrimination and Hostile work environment has become! Case in point: McDonald’s fast foods recently received 23 charges of Sexual Harassment by employees because of sexual harassment by its supervisors. These employees were afraid to stand up for their rights because fear of losing their jobs.
“The workers want McDonald’s to engage in talks to enforce its zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment and to have training for managers and employees to combat the behavior”. “Twenty-three new complaints against McDonald’s — 20 of which were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — were announced Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union, the labor group Fight for $15, and the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund. Three of the complaints were filed as civil rights lawsuits, and two suits stemmed from previous allegations”. Lesson Learned: Do Harassment Training by a certified Trainer or get direction from legal Counsel.
Why do Harassment Training per AB1825 & SB1343?
Dealing with Sexual Harassment Training even when your company is too small to have HR (Human Resources Department)
The subject of sexual misconduct at work is dominating mainstream conversation and board room agendas. This doesn’t just mean men and women who run large global enterprises, Fortune 500 behemoths, film studios, and media platforms. The conversation is happening in small businesses as well.
In the U.S. work in organizations with 50 or fewer people. It would be a mistake to think that a smaller workforce means a decreased chance of sexual harassment. In fact, a few characteristics make small firms more susceptible.
For example, at a smaller firm, people may engage with each other more frequently and that proximity can make the impact of any harassment feel disproportionately large. It can be extremely disruptive if two out of twenty employees suddenly can’t work together and need to be separated. And the legal and punitive costs of sexual harassment cases can feel steeper to a firm with less money and fewer resources.
Importantly, many small firms, especially those with fewer than 30 people, do not have a formal HR department. There is often not enough work to justify a full-time HR employee. The absence of HR means that CEOs must take more responsibility when it comes to keeping current with changing laws, and designing, communicating, and monitoring rules regarding workplace behavior. Another challenge is that without an HR department, more incidents might go unreported, since it may be easier for staff to talk to HR than the boss.
Managing all this is no easy feat for leaders who must also focus on running the business. Some companies have never had a sexual harassment complaint, but now all organizations must be on high alert for any signs of harassment, and many are thinking more now about how to preempt them. Harassment Prevention Training is just as important for smaller organization as larger organizations!
Recommendation by HRCS,LLC, is to do on-sight training rather than on-line training. On-sight training provides better communication with supervisors and employees on questions. It also provides better insight into the companies Employee Relations atmosphere and how it is perceived by their employees.