How to Keep Your Company Away From Court
The number of legal battles being fought in the court in matters related to sexual harassment and the like are growing day by day.
The series of related lawsuits started with the testimony of Anita Hills which was broadcasted across the United States Television channels in 1991, followed by the lawsuit filed against the then President Bill Clinton by Paula Jones.
The Supreme Court of United States set forth two very important decisions related to sexual harassment in the workplace in the year 1998.
The Supreme Court through these decisions provided reprieve to organizations that have clear cut policies against sexual issues.
Let us understand three of the most basic ways to keep an organization away from the court with respect to sexual related legalities.
1.
Set forth a clear cut sexual harassment policy in writing.
Any organization is expected to have in place a written and properly documented related policy for all of its employees.
This policy should clearly outline what could be termed; provide means and ways of reporting workplace harassment and immediate and effective remedial action in case such a harassment policy violation is proven beyond doubt.
2.
Transparent Communication of the policy Organizations that have clearly defined harassment policies can still be dragged to court in case these policies are not communicated to all the employees at different hierarchical levels in the organization.
The best way to ensure that all employees are aware about the existence and implication of the related policy of the organization is by communicating about the same openly at the time of recruitment, frequent discussions about the same during internal meetings and to provide employees with a translated version of the policy wherever applicable.
Moreover, sexual harassment complaints should not be taken lightly and hence should be thoroughly investigated and strict action initiated in case a genuine violation is found.
3.
Train the employees The state of California has enacted a new law, AB 1825, it is mandatory for all organizations that employs more than 50 employees to provide a minimum of two hour training in prevention of any kind of harassment to all employees in the supervisorial cadre.
Although it is not mandatory by law for organizations that employ less than 50 employees to follow such curriculum it would still go a long way in preventing organizations from being drawn to the court over matters of above related issues.
The above tips are not the only methods to prevent an organization from being involved in a legal tangle in matters related to sexual harassment.
However, the above tips can help nip the sexual harassment problem in the bud and thereby preventing damage to the organization's reputation.
The series of related lawsuits started with the testimony of Anita Hills which was broadcasted across the United States Television channels in 1991, followed by the lawsuit filed against the then President Bill Clinton by Paula Jones.
The Supreme Court of United States set forth two very important decisions related to sexual harassment in the workplace in the year 1998.
The Supreme Court through these decisions provided reprieve to organizations that have clear cut policies against sexual issues.
Let us understand three of the most basic ways to keep an organization away from the court with respect to sexual related legalities.
1.
Set forth a clear cut sexual harassment policy in writing.
Any organization is expected to have in place a written and properly documented related policy for all of its employees.
This policy should clearly outline what could be termed; provide means and ways of reporting workplace harassment and immediate and effective remedial action in case such a harassment policy violation is proven beyond doubt.
2.
Transparent Communication of the policy Organizations that have clearly defined harassment policies can still be dragged to court in case these policies are not communicated to all the employees at different hierarchical levels in the organization.
The best way to ensure that all employees are aware about the existence and implication of the related policy of the organization is by communicating about the same openly at the time of recruitment, frequent discussions about the same during internal meetings and to provide employees with a translated version of the policy wherever applicable.
Moreover, sexual harassment complaints should not be taken lightly and hence should be thoroughly investigated and strict action initiated in case a genuine violation is found.
3.
Train the employees The state of California has enacted a new law, AB 1825, it is mandatory for all organizations that employs more than 50 employees to provide a minimum of two hour training in prevention of any kind of harassment to all employees in the supervisorial cadre.
Although it is not mandatory by law for organizations that employ less than 50 employees to follow such curriculum it would still go a long way in preventing organizations from being drawn to the court over matters of above related issues.
The above tips are not the only methods to prevent an organization from being involved in a legal tangle in matters related to sexual harassment.
However, the above tips can help nip the sexual harassment problem in the bud and thereby preventing damage to the organization's reputation.