Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that may violate federal laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These laws are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). See below for tips on preventing workplace harassment.

Following several high-profile new reports of workplace harassment in 2017, the EEOC issued a list of best practices for employers to use in their workplaces to prevent harassment. This list was based on earlier work by the EEOC’s Select Task Force on preventing workplace harassment.

The EEOC’s document did not create any new legal requirements, but is intended to enhance employers’ compliance efforts. This Compliance Overview provides a summary of the EEOC’s “promising practices” document.

LINKS AND RESOURCES

• EEOC’s Promising Practices for Preventing Harassment, issued in November 2017
• Full report of the Co-chairs of the EEOC’s Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace, issued in June 2016

CORE PRINCIPLES

According to the EEOC, five core principles have generally proven effective in preventing and addressing harassment. These principles are listed below, and discussed in more detail later in this document.

LEADERSHIP

To achieve a workplace without harassment, employers should consistently demonstrate a commitment to creating and maintaining a workplace culture in which harassment is not tolerated. This should be part of an overall strategy that promotes diversity, inclusion and a belief that all employees in a workplace deserve to be respected, regardless of their race, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation or gender identity), age, disability or genetic information.

Executives and other individuals in positions of authority should lead these efforts and ensure that the workplace has a comprehensive written harassment policy, a complaint system with full resources and an effective anti-harassment training program. The table below provides additional examples of leadership actions an employer may take to show that it does not tolerate harassment in the workplace.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Because a workplace culture is manifested by which behaviors are formally and informally rewarded or punished, employers should demonstrate to their employees that they take workplace harassment issues seriously through appropriate responses to harassment and complaints. For example, employers should encourage employees to report harassing behavior and acknowledge employees’ efforts to help maintain a harassment-free workplace. Employers should also ensure that individuals who engage in harassment receive prompt, consistent discipline that is proportional to the severity of the harassment.

The principle of accountability also includes exercising appropriate oversight of an employer’s harassment policy, complaint system, training, and any related preventive and corrective efforts. The table below provides examples of actions an employer may take to help maximize accountability.

Employers should establish a written harassment policy and communicate it to employees in a clear, easy-to-understand style and format. The table below lists some key provisions that employers should include in their written harassment policies.

WRITTEN POLICIES

Should include clear and unequivocal statements that:

• The policy applies to employees at every level of the organization, as well as to applicants, clients, customers and other relevant individuals;
• Harassment based on, at a minimum, any legally protected characteristic is prohibited;
• Employees are encouraged to report conduct that they believe may be prohibited harassment (or that, if left unchecked, may rise to the level of prohibited harassment), even if they are not sure that the conduct violates the policy;
• The employer will provide a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation;
• The identity of individuals who report harassment, alleged victims, witnesses, and alleged harassers and other information obtained during an investigation will be kept confidential to the extent possible and permitted by law, consistent with a thorough and impartial investigation;
• Employees are encouraged to respond to questions or to otherwise participate in investigations regarding alleged harassment;
• The organization will take immediate and proportionate corrective action if it determines that harassment has occurred; and
• Retaliation is prohibited, and that individuals who report harassing conduct, participate in investigations or take any other actions protected under federal employment discrimination laws will not be subjected to retaliation.

Should include clear and easy-to-understand descriptions of:

• Prohibited conduct, including examples;
• Any processes for employees to informally share or obtain information about harassment without filing a complaint; and
• The employer’s harassment complaint system, including multiple (if possible), easily accessible reporting avenues.

In addition, an employer’s written anti-harassment policy should be:

• Translated into all languages commonly used by employees; Provided to employees upon hire and during harassment trainings;
• Posted centrally, such as on the company’s internal website, in the company handbook, near time clocks, in break rooms and in other commonly used areas or locations; and
• Reviewed periodically and updated as needed.

HARASSMENT COMPLAINT SYSTEMS:

Effective reporting systems for allegations of harassment are among the most critical elements of an employer’s overall anti- harassment efforts. An employer’s system should include both a means by which individuals who have experienced harassment can report the harassment and file a complaint, as well as a means by which employees who have observed harassment can report that to the employer. The table below provides additional examples of what an employer should include in its complaint system to maximize its effectiveness

Employees who are responsible for receiving, investigating and resolving harassment complaints, or for otherwise implementing an employer’s harassment complaint system, play a significant role in shaping the effectiveness of a complaint system. Thus, employers should ensure that these individuals are well- trained, objective and neutral, and that they have the authority, independence and resources required to receive, investigate and resolve complaints appropriately.

Employers should also take steps to ensure that these individuals consistently:

• Take all questions, concerns and complaints seriously, and respond promptly and appropriately;
• Create and maintain an environment in which employees feel comfortable reporting harassment;
• Appropriately document every complaint from initial intake to investigation to resolution;
• Use guidelines to weigh the credibility of all relevant parties to a complaint; and
• Prepare written reports documenting their investigations, findings, recommendations, any disciplinary actions imposed, and any corrective and preventive actions taken.

HARASSMENT TRAINING PROGRAMS

Leadership, accountability, and strong harassment policies and complaint systems are essential components of a successful harassment prevention strategy, but only if employees are aware of them. Regular, interactive and comprehensive training of all employees may help ensure that employees understand an employer’s rules, policies, procedures and expectations, as well as the consequences of misconduct.

A harassment training program may be most effective if it is:

• Championed by senior leaders
• Repeated and reinforced regularly
• Provided to employees at every level and location
• Provided in a clear, easy-to-understand style and format
• Provided in all languages commonly used by employees
• Tailored to the specific workplace and audience
• Conducted by qualified, live, interactive trainers or, if not live, at least designed to include active participant engagement
• Routinely evaluated by participants and revised as necessary

The table below lists the components an employer should include in its harassment training program for all employees.

Because supervisors and managers often have greater responsibilities than other employees, employers may benefit from providing additional training to these individuals. Employers may also find it helpful to include other employees who exercise authority, such as team leaders, in additional training. The table below provides examples of how employers may maximize the effectiveness of their additional harassment training programs for these individuals.

For additional workplace resources, visit our TIG Advisors blog.

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