Why Discriminatory Harassment Prevention Training is Important to Every Organization

E-learning has revolutionized the industry, making employee training more sophisticated. One of the many topics that employees need training on is discriminatory harassment prevention. Some of these training courses, however, provide a lot of learning content but do not actually meet an organization’s needs. Good training avoids and defends harassment claims. It also helps eliminate the possibility of punitive damages, and improves and maintains employee morale. Inappropriate training will only bog down employers in litigation quagmire. Before an organization chooses a training program, it should consider how and why it would implement the training.

Bad Training

Deciding to train is not enough. An employer must choose a discriminatory harassment prevention training course that suits its needs, and helps avoid and defend harassment claims. Employers should not get distracted by the bells and whistles of these training courses, as certain topics may not facilitate learning. Also, workers should not be graded as they complete the courses. Unless employees score 100 percent on their test, grades can become a litigation nightmare.

And while everyone wants their training to be ‘good,’ what exactly does that mean? Factors such as organizational culture, the attitude of the people being served, and the goals of the training all contribute to make ‘good’ difficult to define. However, most successful training involves testing and validating the course with supervisors and managers before launching it to the entire organization.

Supervisory Training

Supervisors must be trained to identify and prevent discriminatory harassment because they are the eyes and ears of an employer. Therefore, under the law, what supervisors do, see and hear is typically attributed to the employer. If a supervisor witnesses sexual harassment, the employer has knowledge of it. Also, if a supervisor gives a harsh evaluation to an employee who complained about harassment, the employer is susceptible for retaliation. Supervisors are the ones that can get employers in trouble, and this fact must be kept in mind when analyzing training.

Training All Employees

Some organizations choose to train all employees. An employment lawyer should be consulted to discuss whether general workforce training should be the same or different from the training supervisors receive. For example, an organization needs to decide whether it wants its non-supervisors to know more about how they should be disciplined. Some organizations want subordinates to expose their supervisors when they are not supervised properly. Other organizations would find this taboo. Some of the same successful supervisory training principles should also be applied to general workforce training, which would include all levels of management. Observing the impact of discriminatory harassment on an individual and on the workplace helps sensitize employees.

Online Training

Online training is the most cost-effective way to conduct discriminatory harassment prevention training. It eliminates travel costs, reduces workplace disruptions and can be more effective than in-person training. Online training ensures that all workers receive a consistent message. Proof of course completion is also easily managed.

Legal Reasons for Training

Training helps organizations take advantage of the affirmative defense to harassment claims created by the Supreme Court. Discriminatory harassment policy should be communicated, and training is an ideal medium to do so, in order to take advantage of the defense. Training supervisors on how to act when confronted with discriminatory harassment is also important in helping to ensure that the affirmative defense is available. Furthermore, courts have held that good training helps protect employers from possible punitive damages.

An organization may also be required by state or local law to provide training. For example, California employers of 50 or more employees are required to provide sexual harassment prevention training for supervisors. If an employer is under such an obligation to provide training, then the chosen training courses must comply with that law’s specific requirements.

Summary

Effective and successful discriminatory harassment training depends on:

• Assuring the training is delivered consistently throughout the entire organization;
• Validating that the overall tone and method of the training matches appropriately with the organization’s culture;
• Tracking individual and organization-wide participation and using this information as part of a continuous improvement process.