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Gray Plant Mooty Offers Training to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

2/13/2018

Sexual harassment in the workplace is not new, but in light of the #MeToo movement and a multitude of publicly reported incidents in the entertainment industry and elsewhere, employers are urged to engage proactively to prevent and respond to sexual harassment by cultivating a workplace culture that discourages harassment in any form and encourages those impacted to speak out.

Gray Plant Mooty and its employment law attorneys are skilled in providing customized-training sessions for employers on the topic of sexual harassment. This Valentine’s Day, the firm is making it convenient for employers and human resources managers to learn or update best workplace practices for implementation in the #MeToo era in regard to sexual harassment prevention, training, and response. A live webinar, “Sexual Harassment Training for Managers and Human Resources Professionals,” will be held Feb. 14, 2018 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. (CST).

Why is it important to participate? A critical goal of employers and their leadership, including human resources professionals, managers, and supervisors, is to safeguard employees as best they can. Also, sexual harassment can have a detrimental impact on the business itself. Sexual harassment may directly influence workplace productivity, absenteeism, and retention, as well as lead to a culture of fear. There is also the most obvious business impact—lawsuits. Sexual harassment litigation is costly, time consuming, and may create irrevocable harm to the reputation of a business regardless of the outcome.

Sexual harassment is pervasive today. In December 2017, the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard and The Harris Poll conducted a survey among 1,986 registered voters regarding a variety of topics, including sexual harassment. Among the respondents, 70% reported seeing or being sexually harassed at work. According to the same study, more than four in 10 women reported being sexually harassed.

Sexual harassment comes in many forms and is legally prohibited regardless of sex, identifying gender, or sexual orientation of the individuals involved. An employer can be held accountable for harassment at any level of the organization and in any employer-sponsored setting, such as happy hours or parties.

The first step for an employer to protect their employees and the business is to educate as much as possible on sexual harassment—what it is, what measures ought to be taken to prevent it, what to do if sexual harassment takes place, how to respond to harassment issues, and what the employee and the employer may be culpable for.

Register online to participate in this 2018 Valentine’s Day sexual harassment live webinar Feb. 14. Note there is a fee for this 90-minute training session and group rates are available.

For more information about ongoing training for your company or organization, contact the employment law team at Gray Plant Mooty.