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Employment Law

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training – “Best Practices” for Employers

By Makayla Newman, Staff Writer

Stop Harassment

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a pervasive problem still affecting many employees,  harming their lives and their job performances. Workplace sexual harassment is prohibited mostly by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in New Jersey, by the Law Against Discrimination.

Proper sexual harassment training requirements for workplaces, however, vary by state. Seven states, including New York, mandate sexual harassment trainings for some or all private sector employers. New Jersey, on the other hand, is only now considering a bill in the state legislature about mandated sexual harassment trainings for private employers. On the other hand, New Jersey state government employees are required to receive sexual harassment training.

Smart business owners and managers will be proactive to prevent and stop sexual harassment of their employees and should use reasonable care to do so. That means  having – and enforcing – an anti-harassment policy. If there’s a lawsuit, judges and juries may  consider whether an employer made sexual harassment prevention training available to its employees. So regardless of whether a business is in a state that mandates sexual harassment prevention training, it is a “best practice” for private employers to require sexual harassment prevention training of their employees.

It should include the following:

  • Training new employees within 90 days of hire and supervisory employees within 90 days of promotion to the supervisory role, and having a “refresher” training course at least every two years.
  • Posting and distributing in an employee handbook a definition of sexual harassment as described by state law, examples, and the consequences for non-compliance.
  • Including in that pointing and handbook a definition of retaliation for the reporting of sexual harassment and examples.
  • Special training for supervisory employees about their specific heightened responsibilities to prevent harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
  • Making clear to all employees the protected categories as defined under state law, especially for medical conditions, including “perceived disabilities.”
  • Bystander intervention training.
  • The specific steps of reporting harassment (a) internally within the company; and/or (b) to the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (DCR), or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The training involving the definitions of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation should incorporate practical examples for employee clarity and allow for Q and A. Especially in this difficult area, “there’s no such thing as a stupid question.” And employers should monitor how actively employees participate, and record employee completion of the program. Finally, the training should be conducted in multiple languages to cater to employees whose primary language is not English.

Employers have a duty imposed by federal and state law to protect employees from sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation – and themselves from lawsuits. Creation and participation in sexual harassment prevention training is an essential first step.

Makayla Newman is a law clerk at Kates Nussman Ellis Farhi & Earle. She is a second-year law student at Rutgers Law School in Camden, NJ where she is an Associate Editor for the Women’s Rights Law Reporter.

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