1. Friday, March 1, 2013
Tips to assist employers in creating a
harassment-free workplace
Memphis Business Journal by Barbara Richman
Employers can anticipate that charges and lawsuits alleging harassment will continue and
potentially increase as a result of the current focus of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.
In December 2012, the agency approved a Strategic Enforcement Plan for fiscal years 2013-2016
(www.eeoc.gov) which established harassment prevention as one of its six national priorities.
The commission stated that it will deter workplace harassment by conducting a targeted outreach
campaign aimed at educating employers and by pursuing investigations and litigation. According
to the agency, its enforcement endeavors will include an emphasis on eliminating systemic
discrimination which it defines as “a pattern or practice, policy, or class case where the alleged
discrimination has a broad impact on an industry, profession, company or geographic area.”
In addition to announcing its multi-year planning initiatives moving forward, the EEOC issued a
press release highlighting statistics, activities and achievements during the 2012 fiscal year.
Among its accomplishments, the agency noted that it “obtained the largest amount of monetary
recovery from private sector and state and local government employers through its administrative
process - $365.4 million.” The commission achieved settlements without litigation that secured
$36.2 million for victims of unlawful discrimination.
Year-end data also showed that retaliation, race and sex discrimination, which included
allegations of sexual harassment, were, respectively, the most frequently filed charges in 2012.
The EEOC’s website (www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm) can be accessed for
this and additional information on enforcement and litigation statistics, including trends. Links to
various types of specific charges, such as harassment, can be found on the site as well as a
number of new features that the commission has added.
While maintaining an awareness of the EEOC’s focus, employers also need to be mindful of the
impact that claims or findings of harassment can have on their organizations. Time spent in
investigations and hearings is likely to detract from other business objectives. Publicity can
damage the organization’s reputation. Settlements or negative rulings can be costly. When
harassment is present in the workplace, the results can include a decrease in employee morale,
commitment and productivity and an increase in conflicts, absenteeism and turnover.

2. The potential for these negative consequences can be minimized. Employers can be proactive in
taking preventative actions to eliminate harassment. In the event of occurrences, corrective
actions can be taken, as appropriate.
The following are a number of tips to assist employers in creating a harassment-free workplace:
1. Institute a harassment-free workplace policy which clearly states that harassment is not
tolerated based on an individual’s sex, race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability,
genetic information, or any other legally protected status.
2. Incorporate a complaint procedure in the policy that allows employees to bypass their
immediate supervisors and report violations directly to other members of management, as
specified, and/or the human resource department.
3. Establish an understanding that anyone in the workplace can be a harasser, including
supervisors, co-workers and non-employees, such as vendors and customers.
4. Develop an expectation that any employee who experiences, witnesses, or becomes aware of
workplace harassment is required to report the situation promptly.
5. Communicate that employees can raise issues of harassment without concerns of potential
retaliation.
6. Assure employees that complaints of harassment will be treated confidentially, to the extent
practical, and that information will be shared only on a need-to-know basis or as required by law.
7. Establish an expectation that policy violations will subject employees to discipline up to and
including termination of employment.
8. Examine management’s decisions prior to terminating an employee or taking other adverse
employment actions to determine if there is a potential basis for charges of retaliation.
9. Create an understanding among all employees that there is a need to develop an awareness of
any potential stereotypes and/or biases that they may have involving members of a protected
class and to guard against taking harassing actions based on these types of generalizations and
prejudices.
10. Implement training for supervisors and managers that covers topics, such as the
organization’s policy, liabilities associated with harassment, and supervisory responsibilities that
include an expectation that all members of management will serve as role models for a
harassment-free workplace.
11. Provide training or information for current and new employees to assist them in
understanding harassment, the organization’s policy and their responsibilities, including the need
to tell harassers that their conduct is unwelcome and must stop unless the discussion makes them
reasonably feel unsafe.

3. 12. Initiate refresher training on a periodic basis.
13. Emphasize the importance of the policy by posting copies in places where it will be visible to
all employees, applicants and other non-employees.
14. Investigate alleged incidents of harassment to determine facts in a prompt, objective and
methodical manner and take action, as appropriate.
15. Recognize the complexity of the legal landscape, seek input from attorneys and consultants,
and stay up-to-date on relevant compliance issues. For example, a pending U.S. Supreme Court
case is expected to define “supervisors” and, therefore, may impact employers’ liabilities.
16. Create an organizational culture that fosters respect and inclusion.
BARBARA RICHMAN is a senior consultant with HR Mpact, a Memphis human resource
consulting firm, www.hr-mpact.com. She can be reached at (901) 685-9084, (901) 496-0462 or
barbara@hr-mpact.com.