Harassment Policy Checklist Counting
By: Aaron Clark, McGrath North
An employer’s first line of defense to address harassment in the workplace is to adopt an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy and procedure. Having an “effective” policy can provide an affirmative defense to harassment claims lodged against the employer. However, if your company’s policy does not include essential terms, you run the risk that the policy will be rejected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the courts.
The EEOC recommends that every employer should have an anti-harassment policy that is written in a clear, easy-tounderstand format. Your policy should be provided to employees when they are hired and during training. In addition, the policy should be translated into all languages commonly used by employees. It should also be included in the employee handbook and be accessible on the company’s intranet site.
Here is a checklist of the ten components that should be contained in your policy to make it “effective” according to EEOC standards: P A clear statement that discrimination and/or harassment based on any legally protected characteristic is prohibited and will not be tolerated. Your policy should clearly identify the protected groups (e.g., age, gender, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, status as a covered veteran, and any other legally protected status under state law). Your policy should confirm that discrimination and harassment in the workplace are prohibited and will not be tolerated. P A clear explanation of the prohibited conduct. Your policy should state that it applies to recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation and benefits, discipline, terminations and other employment decisions. Furthermore, your policy should identify when certain acts or conduct will constitute prohibited
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