Harassment Training

coxswain

Is there a legal difference between sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, i.e., religious, race, age, national origin, etc.?

We are about to embark on our annual anti-harassment training. We expanded our training last year to include all types of harassment, not just sexual harassment.

In preparing my training notes I began to wonder if I needed to specifically address sexual harassment or by mentioning it and all the other forms of harassment, that was sufficient.

Your thoughts?

Gar

My understanding is that title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to include sexual harassment as a form of gender discrimination. I know the verdicts in several court cases reflect this. I'm not sure when Title VII was amended.

Gillian

There are a lot of legal differences, and an attorney is much better able to speak to them than a non-attorney. From a practical perspective I see no difference and I don't treat them differently in training. There is little workplace difference between an employee who is experiencing sexual harassment than racial. In my mind we treat them alike. I believe that our responsiblity is to created a workplace free of harassment and that this applies to all of the protected classes. There is one exception and that it religion. As I understand it we have no legal principal on which to hang our hat in this area so resolving issues become one of dealing with relationships between employees and the impact in the workplace as the way to resolve issues. For example, some months ago I had an employee who though that it was his job to convert all the others to his beliefs. There were a lot of complaints. I don't think that I had the ability to tell him that this was illegal but I did deal with the work performance and the disruption. We resolved it that way.

coxswain

Thank you, Gillian. My impetus is to go the direction you suggest. I appreciate your thoughts.

System

I forwarded your question to Alice Berquist, one of the developers of PREVENT HARASSMENT: PROMOTE RESPECT(SM), a harassment training program HRhero.com will be offering soon. She offered some insightful comments on harassment training:

========
Your question about the similarities and differences between sexual
harassment and other forms of harassment is a good one. Harassment training
should cover some basic principles that apply to all forms of harassment.
For example, the basic legal definition of what constitutes illegal
harassment is the same. The elements are that the conduct is 1) unwelcome 2)
based on protected class status and 3) severe and pervasive enough to
constitute a hostile work environment. When you discuss these three elements
of the definition, sexual harassment is similar to other forms of
harassment.

However, there are some unique aspects of sexual harassment, just as there
are for other types of harassment. That is why the best training gives
examples of all of the different types of harassment. For example, it is
important to point out that sexual harassment includes harassment based on
sexual advances, touching and requests for sexual favors and can involve
people of the same or different genders. When you are training managers and
supervisors, it is also important to describe quid pro quo or "tangible
employment action" harassment. This occurs when a manager or supervisor
takes or promises to take an employment action (such as a hiring or
promotion decision) in exchange for a sexual relationship.

It is also important to explain and provide examples of the other types of
protected class harassment. For example, when training managers and
supervisors about inappropropriate conduct, it is helpful to point out that
jokes or negative comments about an employee's accent may constitute
national origin harassment or that unwelcome comments about an employee's
relationship with a person of a different race may constitute racial
harassment. Disability harassment may include making negative remarks to an
employee because they are getting light duty assignments. Each type of
harassment is somewhat different and deserves individualized treatment.

In our training program for managers, "Prevent Harassment: Promote Respect,"
(SM) we explain the basic concepts of harassment as well as provide
interactive activities that involve examples of the different types of
protected class harassment.
=============

If you'd like to preview Alice's training software for free for a week or so, e-mail me at [email]webeditor@hrhero.com[/email] and I'll be happy to send you login information.

Christy Reeder
Website Managing Editor
[url]www.HRhero.com[/url]

System

If you're training supervisors, you might want to try Frontline. It's a four-page newsletter for supervisors every two months. I'm now writing the November/December issue, which is on harassment.
[url]http://www.hrhero.com/frontline.shtml[/url]

James Sokolowski
Senior Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers