Sexual Harassment Training : ELT, Inc. : AB 1825, Employment Law, Online Harassment, Compliance, and Harassment Training

There’s never a dull moment in the life of an HR or corporate legal professional.  Just when you survived landmines for bad behavior at the holiday party and Valentine’s Day shenanigans, there is a new and hazardous workplace situation brewing – the 2008 presidential election.

The contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is one of the most talked about elections in years.  And as the first female and first African American candidates engage in a highly televised debate season, the number of debates among coworkers is on the rise as well.  And in a lot of cases, these discussions can center on topics not appropriate for the workplace, including ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and even morality.

And while it’s exciting to see our nation so engaged in the race for our next president, the current frenzy can also create challenges for organizations when it comes to maintaining a discrimination-free workplace.  The very topics of the debates – healthcare, abortion, the environment, economics, immigration, and the war on terror, are ones that people are passionate about, and may cause resentment and tense working relationships among employees.

The increased media coverage is not helping.  Employees are inundated 24/7 with election news on television, radio, newspapers, email, and blog postings.  And because so many employees have the misconception that what’s on television is fair workplace conversation, training employees on what your organization deems appropriate is more important than ever.

Consider an instance where you have two coworkers who interface on a regular basis.  Coworker A is vigorously opposed to the war, but coworker B has a child or relative in the military, stationed in Iraq.  Discussions on the war could prove disastrous, and in the end, cost your organization significantly in terms of lowered productivity, as well as the time and resources needed to resolve the issues.  If other employees become involved creating a workplace schism, the lost productivity, overall costs, and decreased morale just multiply exponentially.

Even discussions on policy can create huge problems for employers.  Take for example the recent Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 which will provide refunds for individuals earning under $75,000, or couples earning under $150,000 jointly.  As employees discuss this topic and inevitably mention whether or not they will receive a return, what they are also doing is revealing to their colleagues their general salary range and those of their spouse.  If an employee learns a coworker is making significantly more money, the disclosure could create problems and resentment, especially if those conversations then continue among other coworkers.

So how can you prevent inappropriate and potentially explosive political discussions in your workplace?

1. On election day, communicate to all employees that while your organization encourages them to exercise their right to vote, discussions about political preferences or issues may not be suitable in the workplace.
2. Monitor your workplace for political campaign ads, advertisements or other literature, and remind employees that certain printed materials may not be appropriate.
3. If you overhear heated discussions in the workplace, address them early.  Make sure your managers are also paying attention to what is going on in their individual departments.
4. Continue to train employees on the importance of maintaining a tolerant workplace and continue to communicate your policies for what your organization considers appropriate workplace discussions.  Training has been and will always be your best defense for preventing problems before they happen.

So the good news is that we have survived 55 past presidential elections.  And while the 2008 election may be the most watched and debated in years, having a sound policy and training program around diversity and discrimination will prove your best defense against problems.

See you in 2012!

Thirty percent of employee learning in 2007 occurred online, a significant jump from 7 percent in 2005, according to two independent reports on the U.S. training market by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) and Bersin & Associates.  As importantly, the reports find that “one of every three hours of training is now being delivered via some form of technology, and that ratio is expected to climb in coming years.”

The reason for the switch is that e-learning is more “flexible and efficient…[and] a more fluid model of training delivery” than the traditional classroom model, according to the reports.  Instructor-led classes are also generally more expensive per learner, and organizations are growing reluctant to pull employees from their work in order to attend training sessions – not to mention tighter budgets during our slowing economy.

“It’s become pretty clear that companies simply cannot do corporate training without using technology,” said company president Josh Bersin.  Even companies that were late adopting virtual training, such as St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos., have “reached a point where they [have] no choice.”

The studies align with our own findings at ELT, which suggest an even stronger trend toward online training in the compliance space.  In 2005, we polled more than 2,000 HR, legal and ethics professionals, asking how much education on topics such as harassment prevention and ethics was occurring online in their workplaces.  The answer was 25 percent.  When we ran the same poll in 2007, the number climbed steeply to 40 percent -- an impressive 60 percent jump in less than two years.

When it comes to mandatory, enterprise-wide compliance training, the sheer volume of learners, as well as the requirement to constantly re-train workers, has made e-learning the only real viable option for companies of any significant size.  The other trend we’re seeing, however, is a downsizing in the number of online courses being built or purchased by employers.  While in the early 2000’s, a “library” model gained popularity, most organizations have discovered they purchased far more programs than they could consume, which translated not only into a poor ROI, but also watered down quality of the actual training programs.

The same 2007 ELT study referenced above asked employers where they are investing the majority of their training dollars and time when it comes to compliance subjects.  Over 90 percent indicated that efforts were concentrated in ethics/Code training, and harassment/discrimination prevention.  This finding is hardly surprising, given that these are really the only two areas where widespread training mandates impact employers of all sizes, and across all industries.  (For a detailed overview, check out ELT’s mandatory compliance training summary.)

So as you embrace e-learning, and the volume of online education at your organization grows, don’t fall into the trap of over spending on multiple compliance titles that are unlikely to get used, and unlikely to add much value to the bottom line.  While we love to see those e-learning numbers climb, sometimes less is more.

And as the economy only looks to get worse, that’s an easy argument to sell.

Whether the economy is … dare I say it … in a recession or not, employers and employees are feeling the pinch. Bad news in the housing market and the financial sector has made us all a bit skittish.  And rest assured, you can count your employees among the nervous masses. What’s on their minds?  A heady mix of stress that includes job security, threatened retirement savings, personal debt load, and future career prospects.

If your organization is tightening its belt or considering how to weather this period, it’s critical to steer senior leaders away from making one big mistake – cutting back on essential employment law training.  Employment law training budgets should never be considered “discretionary spending,” especially in a downturn.

Employment law claims don’t dwindle along with a poor economy – they actually increase. This isn’t just speculative theory – it’s supported by a formal analysis of case filings.  A great study published in the Stanford Law Review by John Donohue and Peter Siegelman (The Changing Nature of Employment Discrimination Litigation, 43 Stan. Law. Rev. 983 (1991)), gives a clear picture of claim trends during an economic downturn:

• When the economy goes into a recession, there is a dramatic increase in the number of employment lawsuits filed in federal court.  A scarcity of alternative employment serves as a catalyst for litigation.

• The single largest predictor in the long-term growth trend of case filings is the national unemployment rate.  When the economy booms, employment discrimination case filings fall in the next half-year; when the economy slumps, case filings rise over the next half-year.  This phenomenon explains roughly 95% of the variance in the number of cases filed.  A modest rise in the current unemployment rate from 4% to 5.5% could generate a 21% increase in the number of employment discrimination claims.

• The average damage award to a successful plaintiff rises in business downturns, particularly with respect to employment discrimination suits.  Because the length of time it takes for a plaintiff to find another job increases in a recessionary economy, monetary awards are elevated.

• Overall charges surged by 9% over the prior year – the largest annual increase since 1993.

• Race claims still top the list at 37% of all EEOC charges.

• Up 18%, retaliation is now the second most common claim.

• Pregnancy discrimination claims jumped 14% over last year – a number that’s likely to only increase.

• The EEOC collected record monetary relief for victims of discrimination in 2007 -- $345M, an increase of 26% over 2006.

• Consent decrees and settlements with the EEOC consistently featured mandatory harassment and discrimination prevention training.

By now, you’re probably all familiar with your compliance training obligations and mandates. They really focus on three key areas – ethics, harassment and discrimination. If you’re not familiar, just check out the free ELT resources designed to help you understand the legal landscape.

And as a final note, remember to pay attention to your potential wage-and-hour liability during these tough economic times.  Like discrimination claims, wage-and-hour claims are increasingly attractive when wallets are thin, and alternative job prospects grim.  Wage-and-hour class action claims now outnumber all discrimination class action claims, combined.  So during our current downturn, I’m confident we can expect to see an increasing surge of claims related to pay and hours or work.  Training in wage-and-hour compliance, like with harassment and discrimination, can help your organization to establish invaluable affirmative defenses in the event of litigation.  Learn more about how training can impact the bottom line with ELT’s wage-and-hour resources.

At the end of the day, employment law training is so much more than “training” – it’s bottom line risk management.  You wouldn’t start canceling your business insurance policies to save money in a downturn.  The same goes for foundational employment law compliance.  It’s non negotiable.