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Workplace training is a hot topic. Training has become more sophisticated and e-learning has revolutionized the industry. That's the good news. The bad news is that many discriminatory harassment prevention training courses dazzle you with details but don't fulfill your goals. With all the commotion about pre-tests, grading, glitz, changes in the law and other learning issues, you can lose sight of why discriminatory harassment prevention training is needed. Good training can help both avoid and defend harassment claims. It can also help eliminate the possibility of punitive damages. It can improve and maintain employee morale. Inappropriate training will only further mire employers in the litigation quagmire.
Bad Training
Deciding to train is not enough. You must choose a discriminatory harassment prevention training course that suits your individual organization's needs and can help you avoid and defend harassment claims. Don't get distracted by bells and whistles. Workers do not need to be taught caselaw. What if it changes? Workers don't need pre-tests. Glitz is great, but only if it facilitates learning. Don't grade workers. Unless an employee scores 100%, grades can become a litigation nightmare. Do you have accurate records of who completed training and completion dates? If not what evidence do you have of the training?
The way training is implemented can be as important as the training itself. You must decide whether your training will be limited to supervisors or will include all employees. Once the decision is made, no worker in the group to be trained should be excused from training. Employees must be convinced that the success of the training is crucial to your organization's success.
Supervisory Training
Supervisors must be trained to identify and prevent discriminatory harassment. Supervisors are the eyes and ears of an employer. Therefore, under the law, what supervisors do, see and hear are typically attributed to the employer. For example, if a supervisor witnesses sexual harassment, the employer has knowledge of it. If a supervisor uses a racial slur when reprimanding, the employer is responsible. If a supervisor gives a harsh evaluation to an employee who complained about harassment, the employer may be on the hook for retaliation. Supervisors are the ones that can get employers in trouble! This fact must be kept in mind when analyzing training.
Training that recites the law and gives some examples of discriminatory harassment is insufficient. Supervisory discriminatory harassment prevention training should include the following objectives:
- Show the effect of harassment from the non-supervisor's perspective. Illustrating the impact of harassment can help sensitize supervisors and reduce workplace harassment.
- Supervisors need to be able to identify potential violations of your discriminatory harassment policy and follow the policy by reporting to Human Resources. This learning objective cannot be glossed over in a few sentences. Workplace simulations work best to get this point across.
- Supervisor must understand the legal impact of their discipline, evaluations and day-to-day communications. Documentation with objective criteria and specific examples must be stressed. Supervisors must understand what constitutes unlawful retaliation.
- Upper management must be involved. Having employees hear the President or Chairperson from your organization talk about the organizations' zero tolerance commitment toward discriminatory harassment is a great way to both communicate the organizations' policy and get employees to take the policy seriously.
Training All Employees
Some organizations choose to train all employees. Your employment lawyer should be consulted to discuss whether such training should be the same or different from the training provided to supervisors. For example, do you want non-supervisors to know more about how they should be disciplined, etc.? Some organizations want subordinates to call their supervisors on the carpet when they are not being supervised properly. Other organizations would find this taboo. Some of the same principles of successful supervisory training should be applied to general workforce training as well. For example, upper management should be involved in the training. Also, showing the impact discriminatory harassment can have on an individual and on the workplace can help to sensitive employees.
Online Training
Online training is the most cost effective way to conduct discriminatory harassment prevention training. Online training eliminates travel costs, reduces workplace disruptions and can be more effective than live, seminar-style training. Also, online training can ensure that a consistent message is provided to all workers. Proof of course completion is also easily managed, which may not mean much for small employers - but could be extremely important for larger employers.
The Legal Reasons For Training
Training can help your organization take advantage of the affirmative defense to harassment claims created by the Supreme Court. By ensuring that your Discriminatory Harassment Policy is communicated - and training is a great way to do this - you are on the way to being able to take advantage of the defense. Training supervisors on how to act reasonably when confronted with discriminatory harassment is the second prong of helping to ensure that the affirmative defense is available. Further, courts have held that good training can help protect employers from the possibility of punitive damages.
The Employment Lawyer's Role
Too often, discriminatory harassment prevention training is a project given just to human resources or, if online training has been chosen, human resources and MIS. Invite you employment lawyer to evaluate and/or help develop your training program. Nothing belongs in your discriminatory harassment prevention training course unless your employment lawyer believes it is a good idea. After all, if the law is the reason for the training, it is logical to have lawyers involved.
Robert D. Lipman, Esq.
President of Interactive Employment Training www.hrtrain.com
A free discriminatory harassment prevention online course co-authored by Mr. Lipman may be accessed at www.hrtrain.com/demo
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