How far does harassment have to go before it's illegal? "You don't care," says Attorney Jonathan Segal, "because long before it's illegal it's inappropriate, and you want to stop it there."

Segal, a partner in the Philadelphia law office of Duane Morris LLP, offered his remarks at the recent SHRM conference in New Orleans.

In your policies and your training, don't talk about "harassment" or "illegal," Segal says. Identify actions that are inappropriate. You want to be able to take action before employees reach the threshold of illegality. And you don't want documents to refer to "illegal harassment," but rather "inappropriate conduct."

Segal offers the following examples of conduct that is inappropriate, even if it may not be unlawful.

  • Linking any employment decision or benefit to a subordinate's submission or refusal to submit to sexual advances (this is always unlawful)
  • Asking for sex (even if there is no demand or threat)
  • Engaging in sex while at work
  • Repeated requests for dates (even the initial request is risky if the asker has supervisory authority, direct or indirect, over the person being asked)
  • Sexually explicit, suggestive, or sexually oriented discussions/questions
  • Comments regarding appearance that are of a sexual nature or made at inappropriate times or frequency
  • Unwelcome and/or inappropriate touching

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  • Sexual or suggestive jokes or jokes that stereotype, demean, or make fun of any protected group
  • Mimicking or mocking someone because of their membership in, or having attributes associated with their membership in, a protected group
  • Sexual or suggestive materials or objects
  • Hate symbols or messages, or symbols or messages that are hostile to a protected group
  • Slurs/epithets that relate to any protected group
  • Nicknames that relate to any protected group
  • Stereotypic or biased comments or expressions
  • Cursing and other foul language
  • Nonverbal innuendo of a sexual, suggestive, or threatening nature
  • Hostile behavior targeted at an employee because of his or her membership in a protected group

Harassment training—just one part of the essential training all of your supervisors and managers need. And training is especially critical for supervisors who are new to the job. They don't know how to handle basic tasks like hiring and firing, let alone intermittent leave, harassment, or accommodating a disability.

It's not their fault—you didn't hire them for their HR knowledge—and you can't expect them to act appropriately right out of the box. But you can train them to do it.

Train your line managers with BLR's 10-Minute HR Trainer. There won't be time for classroom boredom. Try it for free.

To train effectively, you need a program that's easy for you to deliver and that requires little time from busy schedules. Also, if you're like most companies in these tight budget days, you need a program that's reasonable in cost.

We asked our editors what they recommend for training supervisors in a minimum amount of time with maximum effect. They came back with BLR's unique 10-Minute HR Trainer.

As its name implies, it trains managers and supervisors in critical HR skills in as little as 10 minutes for each topic. 10-Minute HR Trainer offers these features:

  • Trains in 50 key HR topics, including manager and supervisor responsibilities under all major employment laws and how to legally carry out managerial actions from hiring to termination. (See a complete list of topics, below.)
  • Uses the same teaching sequence master teachers use. Every training unit includes an overview, bullet points on key lessons, a quiz, and a handout to reinforce the lesson later.
  • Completely prewritten and self-contained. Each unit comes as a set of reproducible documents. Just make copies or turn them into overheads, and you're done. (Take a look at a sample lesson, below.)
  • Updated continually. As laws change, your training needs do as well. 10-Minute HR Trainer provides new lessons and updated information every 90 days, along with a monthly Training Forum newsletter, for as long as you are in the program.
  • Works fast. Each session is so focused that there's not a second's waste of time. Your managers are in and out almost before they can look at the clock. Yet they remember small details even months later.

Evaluate It at No Cost for 30 Days

We've arranged to make 10-Minute HR Trainer available to our readers for a 30-day, in-office, no-cost trial. Review it at your own pace and try some lessons with your colleagues. If it's not for you, return it at our expense. Click here and we'll set you up with 10-Minute HR Trainer.

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