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6. A superior blocks a promotion for a subordinate who has firmly stated that the superior’s sexual remarks were unwelcome.
This is another example of potential tangible employment action harassment. Of course, the superior can argue that he or she blocked the promotion for a good business reason, but that reason had better be well documented and beyond questioning. And there could still be a hostile environment.
7. The company’s policies on harassment state that co-workers can’t date.
This seems like a great, albeit draconian, solution to a potential problem, but most organizations find that it’s unworkable. It’s also difficult to police. The important thing is to train supervisors and managers about:
- The potential for a harassment if either party has any business power over the other.
- The potential for a retaliation claim if the parties break up.
8. As long as people don’t complain about my kidding and my pinching, I don’t have to worry.
Sometimes, employees will seem to be going along with inappropriate behavior, and it is true that behavior must be “unwelcome” to be harassment. Unfortunately, in court people who seemed to be accepting may tell the jury that they had to go along so they could feed their young children. That’s not going to end well for the company.
Unlimited employee HR training—one low cost—no setup, no software to install. Find out why the Software & Information Industry Association voted TrainingToday the “Best Workforce Training Solution.” Go here for more information or to sign up.
9. I’ve been sleeping with my assistant, but we both enjoy it—it’s not a boss thing, it’s a love thing.
Unfortunately for the company, most relationships eventually break up, and that means the employee, if he or she suffers a negative employment action, can always claim that it was retaliation for breaking up the relationship.
And there’s another problem with subordinate dating—co-workers will tend to believe that the subordinate is getting special treatment. That’s bad for morale and could also result in a lawsuit.
10. Only supervisors can harass subordinates.
Generally, only supervisors and managers can exercise the power to engage in tangible employment action harassment, but any co-worker can create a hostile environment.
11. Our receptionist is attractive, and the delivery people tend to tease a little, well, a lot, but they’re not employees, so there’s nothing I can do about them.
If you allow a hostile environment to continue, even if created by an outsider, you are condoning harassment, and that is not going to be good. Management must take action, talking to the outsiders, and if necessary, to their management.
How can you eliminate harassment and retaliation in your organization? As with most things HR, the key to success is training, training, and more training. But who has the budget and time to organize a full-blown training program?
Good news from BLR—now you can run your training program like a pro, with our new TrainingToday system.
TrainingToday is a leading provider of online education programs for employees and supervisors. Each course in our extensive library addresses a specific topic with engaging and interactive presentations, delivering practical advice and clear instructions that trainees will remember long after the training is complete.
Three Delivery Platforms
TrainingToday offers you the option of three delivery platforms to meet your organization’s needs:
Professional
- Unlimited training for your whole organization for one flat fee
- Easy to start up and track trainee progress
- Hundreds of courses available, from employment law compliance to sales excellence
Enterprise
The Enterprise includes all the features of the Professional Version plus:
- Track and report capability with built-in comprehensive Learning Management System
- Train with courses as they are, or make them truly your own with our customization options
- Upload your own content (power point, video, SCORM files, etc) to the LMS in addition to using our comprehensive training courses
SCORM
- Integrate content into your existing LMS
- Easy to tailor to your content, logo, presentation style, and corporate policies
- SCORM compliant to integrate with existing corporate learning systems
No time to prepare or deliver training? With the BLR®’s TrainingToday, your employees can start taking essential training courses the same day you sign up. Workers (and supervisors) train at their convenience, 24/7. We track, and you save with this turnkey solution. Yes, it really can be this simple. Learn more.
Here are just some of the many courses available at TrainingToday:
[Click here to download information on all courses and libraries.]
Over 75 HR and employment training courses covering topics such as: Sexual Harassment, Diversity, and ADA.
The Diversity library is an interactive training program with different modules for supervisors and employees. It features real-world scenarios and insightful commentary from a leading workplace expert and employment law attorney.
Preventing Sexual Harassment- National – NEW!
Up until now, training has been a real challenge—there’s such a load of extraneous planning, preparing, and tracking involved. But we’ve got good news—BLR’s editors have developed a unique new program that’s done all that work for you.
It’s called TrainingToday. This turnkey service requires no setup, no course development time, no software installation, and no new hardware. Your employees can self-register, and training can be taken anytime (24/7), anywhere there is a PC and an Internet connection. Courses take only about 30 minutes to complete.
TrainingToday automatically documents training. As trainees sign on, their identifications are automatically registered. When the program is completed, the trainee’s score is entered. So, when you want to see who has been trained on any subject, or look at the across-the-board activity of any one employee, it’s all there, instantly available to you, your boss, an inspector—even a plaintiff’s attorney.
Course certificates can be automatically generated from within the training center and are automatically retained for recordkeeping purposes.
Unlimited Training That Won’t Bust the Budget
Best of all, in these budget-crunching times, TrainingToday costs only a fraction of what you would pay for a learning management system (LMS). You always know exactly what training will cost, no matter how many programs you use, or how many times you use them. There’s just one low annual fee—for unlimited training—calculated by the size of your workforce. Budget once and you’re done!
These are all motivational, actionable courses—for both employees and supervisors—in such key areas as sexual harassment, FMLA, diversity, communication, USERRA, recruiting, and many more. The courses are kept up to date to reflect federal and state regulatory changes, and what’s more, BLR adds new programs continually.
TrainingToday also includes a selection of safety courses—you decide whether you want just the HR courses, the safety courses, or both HR and safety.
If it sounds as if we’re excited about this new service, well, we are—and so is the Software & Information Industry Association, which just voted TrainingToday (formerly the Employee Training Center) the “Best Workforce Training Solution.” Find out what all the buzz is about—sign up for a no-obligation trial to TrainingToday.