How to prevent sexual harassment in your business?

Sexual harassment in the workplace remains a menace that employers need to constantly battle and ensure that they have policies in place to prevent such instances. This is an area where extensive campaigns by the government and mainstream media have failed to yield a desired outcome. It is widely believed that sexual harassment can be prevented effectively by the employer. Therefore, the government mandates that the employer must take proactive steps to stop this problem.

What is sexual harassment?

New York City sexual harassment lawyers know there are several aspects to harassment. This includes and is not limited to:

• Unwelcome innuendoes and advances of a sexual nature
• Physical conduct of a sexual nature
• Constant requests for sexual favors
• Creation of a hostile and offense environment in office
• Offensive gestures or behavior directed towards a particular gender

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Preventive Measures

The employer must make the staff aware that that any form of sexual harassment will not be tolerated in the office. Tutorials and training sessions on harassment must be conducted to make people aware of inappropriate gestures that fall under the purview of harassment. In addition, New York, NY sexual harassment attorneys stress that an effective complaint system must be in place to benefit a victim and when a complaint is made the employee must deal with it swiftly and effectively.

Salient Features of a Sound Anti-harassment Policy

• The anti-harassment policy of a company must be written in simple English.
• The policy must include a proper definition along with examples of what actually constitutes harassments of a sexual nature.
• The company must make it clear that it considers such acts as condemnable and punishable.
• The company must have an easy complaint procedure which must be detailed in the section dealing with the anti-harassment policy.
• The company must designate a few managers (depending on the size of the company) with the task of dealing with the harassment complaints. A person outside the chain of command must be a part of this group.
• The employer must make it mandatory for supervisors to report any complaints of sexual harassment. They also must face disciplinary action if they fail to do so.
• The employer also must ask supervisors to maintain confidentiality.
• Additionally the employee who had complained against a harasser must be protected by the employer.
• The employer must clarify any potential disciplinary actions that will be taken against the employee who had misbehaved.
• It is essential to provide a timeline within which an investigation must be completed.

New York sexual harassment lawyers express that the employee handbook ought to include an anti-harassment policy that is made available to all the employees.

Once the company receives a complaint, it must act immediately to stop the harassment first and then initiate an investigation. All the involved parties including the harasser, the complainant and witnesses must be questioned.

What happens if the company does not act?

If the company fails to act on the complaint, then the victim ought to employ a New York sexual harassment lawyer and take the company to the court. He/she will probably file a charge at Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission will then investigate the matter and initiate certain corrective measures. Often the EEOC asks the company and the complainant to attend to a mediation session. If the negotiations are not successful the EEOC will give the victim to go ahead and file a lawsuit.