Bright Lights - Tips & Solutions

HR 101

Harassment Claims on the Upswing

According to a poll published by in the spring of 2010 by the Society for Human Resources Management, harassment claims have increased in the past 24 months.  The SHRM poll reported that 25% of the companies polled indicated that they have seen a rise in sexual harassment claims in the past 24 months.

Closer to home; a May news report stated that Lafayette College agreed to pay 1 million dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim.  A Philadelphia McDonalds franchise also has been reported to have settled a disability law suit in the amount of $90,000 in a claim alleging that a disabled employee was consistently called degrading names, was shoved by fellow workers and had physical threats made against the claimant.

In addition to the actual harassment claims, employers are now facing an increase in retaliation claims.  Retaliation claims are claims brought by employees where he or she filed an initial complaint of harassment, which may or may not have merit, and the employer has reacted to the claim in a way that changed the treatment of the claimant simply because he or she filed the complaint.

Training the workforce is an organization’s best defense against harassment judgments!  Over 90 % of the claims alleging harassment are made by current employees.  This is contrary to the common belief that lawsuits are filed by disgruntled past employees.  Here organizations have an opportunity to recognize a problem and provide for a plausible solution in the form of an educated, engaged and vigilant workforce.  

So what are you doing to prevent harassment in your organization?  Many companies have taken the steps to write and put into place anti-harassment policies but this is not enough to ward off harassment claims and/or harassment judgments.  Employers are responsible for ensuring that all employees know and understand the law, your policies and have a definitive and easily accessible reporting mechanism for any suspected harassment.  In the Society for Human Resources Management poll referenced above, 63% of the companies polled did not provide training on an annual basis, only 17% provided training to middle management and 4% provided any training to for non-managers.

It is important to note that the majority of claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission continue to be made by females; and continue to take the form of both quid pro quo and hostile environment claims.  Managers and Supervisors must understand the role they play as an agent of the organization and the cause and effect that their relationships with employees can have both individually and for the company.  Human Resources professionals must understand and be able to take the appropriate steps to report and stop harassing behavior as some courts have held the individual personally liable if he or she knew and did not takes steps to end the harassing behavior. 

Harassment does not only happen in large to medium size companies it also exists in small or privately owned organizations such as doctors offices, law firms, accounting firms, etc.  It is vital that all businesses provided training to all employees around the law and internal policies and reporting practices.  In this case a few preventative measures can save the company large sums of money and headaches in defending a harassment or retaliation claim.