Blog

For the first time in nearly 25 years, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published new guidance on workplace harassment, including over 70 examples and new terminology. We recommend that employers and HR professionals familiarize themselves with these new definitions and examples.

Daylight savings begins on Sunday, March12th at 2:00am!  That means it’s time to “spring forward” and turn your clocks ahead 1 hour before your head hits the pillow Saturday night!

It’s also time to audit your HR practices to ensure you’re company is compliant with all required training for your employees.  If your company has five (5) or more employees, there are two key training requirements to be aware of: Mandated Reporter and Harassment Prevention.

President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. The Act does what it says: even if an employee signs a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, the employer cannot force the employee to participate in arbitration when their claim relates to sexual harassment or sexual assault. 

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Yes! The same answer holds true for harassment. Whether harassment happens at an in-person happy hour event or in an online virtual happy hour, it still happens.

CEA is working with and supporting employers during these difficult and emotionally charged times. CEA stands firm in our mission of providing employers with Peace of Mind through exceptional HR compliance solutions, training, and recruiting services. 

An employee tells you they have just tested positive for COVID-19, what are your next steps as an employer? An employee shows up at work smelling like marijuana and slurring their words, what can you do? An employee turns in their resignation, what required forms do you need to process the termination?

Two employees at a 99 Cents Only store in Redding alleged that an assistant manager sexually assaulted them in a walk-in freezer, and the store retaliated against them after they complained. The DFEH recently reached a settlement of $1.2 million in this matter.

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill (SB) 778. Effective immediately, this bill extends the deadline for employers with five or more employees to provide anti-harassment training by one year—from January 1, 2020 until January 1, 2021.

Recently, the DFEH settled a harassment case for $450,000. The DFEH charged a mobile home park with violating California law by subjecting an employee to sex and national origin harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

Companies defending against claims of harassment or discrimination might sometimes use the "equal opportunity jerk" defense. If this is the best defense your organization has, be careful! Not only is this a weak defense, but it can and will get your company in hot water.

A new law for next year, SB 1343, requires that all employers of 5 or more employees provide 1 hour of harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to non-managerial employees and 2 hours of harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to managerial employees by January 1, 2020.

When it comes to preventing workplace harassment, a recent study by SHRM has mixed reviews. While there is some progress, there is also an absence of an overall cultural shift. For instance, two-thirds of executives have not changed their behaviors at all.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates that 75% of all workplace harassment incidents go unreported. Oftentimes this occurs because the would-be-reporter is afraid of retaliation. In other words, the ‘kill the messenger’ syndrome is alive and well in bullying, as it is in sexual harassment.