What Constitutes Harassment? If you’re asking yourself what constitutes harassment on the job, this information will help you. When it comes to harassment in the workplace, awareness, communication and early intervention are essential. Each person in your company should be held accountable for reporting any cases and for making sure proper steps are taken. Harassment can come from a colleague, a supervisor, a subordinate or another person in the workplace, or even someone from the public.   Harassment is no simple topic. Early workplace harassment laws in the United States came from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. At that time, it became illegal to harass people at work due to these traits.   What is Harassment? Harassment is generally considered any improper conduct directed at someone that is taken as offensive, disturbing, or upsetting by that person. It would also be considered offensi ...

  Costs of harassment lawsuits     The number of, and costs of, harassment lawsuits have increased significantly over the past several years. These lawsuits cause major financial risks for employers. There are many steps that can be taken to help prevent sexual and other kinds of harassment claims.   It’s important to understand the costs of harassment lawsuits. If an employer loses a lawsuit, it may be responsible for:     Court costs Punitive damages Compensatory damages (pain and suffering) Lost wages and benefits (back pay) Reinstatement (front pay) Plaintiff’s attorney fees Expert witness fees   Costs of harassment lawsuits can easily reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. Employers must regularly take steps to help prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and educate employees on the importance of this issue. Any problems that arise of a sexual nature should be handled reasonably and efficiently. ...

  Sexual Harassment in the Workplace – How to Avoid Claims Through being Prepared   Employers must regularly take steps to help prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and educate employees on the importance of this issue. Any problems that arise of a sexual nature should be handled reasonably and efficiently. In order to successfully defend sexual harassment complaints, employers should be able to:   Maintain a complete workplace sexual harassment policy Prove all employees were made aware of the policy Prove employees were provided with a formal complaint process to report such claims Provide documentation the situation was handled immediately upon notification of a problem Defend any claims an employee could be retaliated against for making a complaint   Here are some helpful tips for avoiding sexual harassment in the workplace claims:  Make sure all employees understand sexual harassment will not be tolerated. Employers must ensur ...

  Your Employee’s Work email expectation of privacy – New Supreme Court Decision adds some clarity. The latest Supreme Court ruling help that a California police department’s review of sexually charged text messages sent by the officer to his wife and to his mistress from his employer-issued pager, did not constitute an invasion of the employee’s privacy. This overturned a previous ruling by the 9th Circuit. (Link to the full opinion in City of Ontario v. Quon).   As a business owner, you should take note that the Supreme Court’s decision was largely motivated by concept that the police department’s review of the messages was in line with its policy and was conducted for a valid business reason. Also, that the implications of the decision on the employees texts in this case could also be seen to apply to the work email expectation of privacy for the average employee.   The officer had exceeded the allotted monthly number of messaged approved for his tex ...

  DOL says you may have to compensate employees for time spent putting on protective equipment required by law. The new Department of Labor’s (DOL) Administrator’s Interpretation, issued by Deputy Administrator Nancy J. Leppink), concerns whether you have to pay for the time employees use to change put on and take off protective equipment required by law. It’s entitles “SUBJECT: Section 3(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.  203(o), and the definition of clothes.” (Administrator's Interpretation No. 2010-2)   Under the Fair Labor and Standards Act, you don’t have to pay employees for their time spend changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday. But, this new Administrator’s Interpretation explains that safety equipment is going to be treated separately, and that changing into and out of protective equipment required by law is now time that your employees will be compensated for.   So, if your employees ar ...