SHIFT - Critical Questions to Ask When Selecting a Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination Training Program

SHIFT HR Compliance Training

800.790.5030 www.shiftelt.com

©2016 SHIFT HR Compliance Training, All Rights Reserved

Critical Questions to Ask When Selecting a Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination

Training Program

800-790-5030 www.shiftelt.com

2

PURPOSE

We have collected data from top-ranked employment lawyers and wanted to share their

thoughts with you to help you decide which training program is best for your organization.


3

Q: Why does my company need to do Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination training?

A: If you are not conducting effective anti-harassment training for all employees, you are jeopardizing your company’s ability to invoke an affirmative defense in the event of a lawsuit. In order to establish a successful affirmative defense, employers need to implement all of

the following:

1. Put a Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination Policy in place and disseminate it to all employees.

2. Fully train employees on the Policy so they know what it says and to whom they should direct complaints.

3. Instruct Supervisors of their responsibilities for preventing and remedying harassment in the workplace.

4. Monitor the workplace to ensure the Policy is being followed.

Some state courts, applying federal law, have ruled that an affirmative defense is unavailable to "an employer that implements an ineffective anti-harassment policy, or fails to enforce its policy." Conducting company-wide harassment/discrimination training is one way to minimize legal exposure to workplace disputes and litigation.


4

A: The right training program should use realistic workplace scenarios and illustrate appropriate workplace behavior. The goal should be to engage your employees so that the training is more likely to impact their

workplace conduct. The training program should respect the learner, so the learner respects the training. At a minimum, training should inform employees on what type of behavior will not be tolerated and provide employees with information about the appropriate reporting channels.

Q: How should we evaluate anti-harassment/discrimination training programs?


5

A: It is essential that supervisors take training which addresses their distinct responsibilities as supervisors, informs them of their potential liability, and clarifies what they need to do when they know of or should have known about any harassing or discriminatory conduct.

Q: How should training be different for supervisors versus non- supervisory employees?


6

A: Yes. Studies show that the effects of harassment and discrimination in the workplace cause employee dissatisfaction, costly turnover, and a

decline in productivity. By not addressing this critical workplace issue, companies will potentially lose top talent and find themselves in a

constant cycle of hiring.

Q: Besides lawsuits, are there other concerns if companies do not choose to provide anti-harassment/discrimination

training?


7

A: It is critical that your training program include a clear segment detailing retaliation to help supervisors understand what type of behavior is prohibited. Retaliation complaints have skyrocketed over the last few years making up 42.8% of all EEOC complaints in 2014. Employees and supervisors alike must have a clear understanding of what retaliation is and what their responsibilities are so that they can refrain from and/or address it.

Q: How important is it for my training program to include a segment on Retaliation?


8

Q: Do you recommend including a segment on Unconscious Bias in an anti-harassment/discrimination training program?

A: Yes. We strongly recommend that your training program include a segment on unconscious bias. Recent research shows that this is the

best way to get to the root of workplace discrimination. Including information for your employees on how they, or others, might be unknowingly exercising biases at work will have a strong impact on the effectiveness of the training.


9

A: We strongly recommend in-person training for certain groups of employees, e.g. C-Suite, Senior Management, Human Resources. However, in order to reach your entire workforce – which might be spread out in multiple locations across the state or country – most companies find that online training is easier and more cost-effective

to deploy and administer. In addition, online training takes half the time as in-person training, which results in less downtime and a minimal impact on productivity.

Q: Should we choose in-person training or online training?


10

A: Current academic and e-learning industry research supports the redundancy principle, which states that presenting words both in

text and audio narration can negatively impact learning. Moreover, the use of audio narration can detract from learning and allow the learner to multi- task, which results in loss of focus on the material. As a result it does not benefit your learners to listen to course material. For more information about this, please refer to Calandra, Barron, Thomposon-Sellers, “Audio Use in E-Learning: What, Why, When and How?” International Journal on E-Learning Vol. 7, No. 4.

Q: Which is better - a training program that requires the learner to read or one that requires the learner to listen?


11

A: Yes, you should ensure that the training program you select is certified as being California/Connecticut/Maine compliant. Under California and Connecticut law, the training must be 2 hours in length for Supervisors and 1 hour in length for Non-Supervisors. In California, the training also must include information about anti-bullying laws. In Maine, the training must be 2 hours for both Supervisors and Non-Supervisors.

Q: We have employees in California, Connecticut and/or Maine and need to provide mandatory training that complies with the laws of those states. Should we be concerned with the type of training

product we choose?


12

A: Yes. Regardless of whether insurance covers harassment claims made against your company, you do not want the publicity associated with

losing a harassment or discrimination case. If you lose your affirmative defense because you do not have an effective training platform in place, an employee is more likely to succeed in their harassment/discrimination claim against you.

Q: We have insurance, do we still need to do Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination training?


13

It is important that you evaluate the quality of your training program and not view it as a minimal legal requirement that just “checks a box”. The ultimate goals for implementing this type of training are critical: to make an impact on workplace culture, decrease legal claims, and ensure an effective affirmative defense against complaints that are filed. It is a critical decision for your business . . . and one that deserves careful consideration.

FINAL NOTE


14

PRESENTED BY

Katherin Nukk-Freeman, Esq.

Contact Katherin to learn more about online HR compliance [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

SHIFT - Critical Questions to Ask When Selecting a Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination Training Program

Recruiting & HR