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Harassment is a growing issue in the workplace, with nearly one-third of employees surveyed saying they feel uncomfortable at work because of unwanted sexual advances. This guide offers policies to help you handle these situations effectively and keep your business healthy.
A sexual harassment policy defines sexual harassment, forbids it in the workplace, and outlines the penalties that offenders will face if they break the policy. Small companies must have sexual harassment policies in place to comply with federal and state regulations and to provide a safe working environment for their workers.
You may download and customize this free sexual harassment policy template to suit your requirements. Before you distribute the policy to your employees, make sure you get it reviewed by an employment lawyer or an HR professional.
Although workers have up to a year to register a claim under federal law, we urge that you encourage your employees to disclose harassment issues as soon as possible. Furthermore, it is preferable to investigate, record, and address the harassment situation as soon as possible.
Why Do Small Businesses Need a Policy Against Sexual Harassment?
An effective sexual harassment policy guarantees that your staff are aware of what is and is not acceptable behavior in your workplace. It also guarantees that all employees are treated fairly and consistently. Solid insurance will also keep your organization out of expensive legal trouble.
As an employer, you must follow several federal rules, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s anti-discrimination statutes (EEOC). When your company has 15 or more workers, you’re subject to EEOC statutes that ban sex discrimination. Violations may result in hefty penalties and lawsuits from employees. These dangers may be mitigated by having a defined policy.
If your workers see employees participating in sexual harassment or being harassed by others with no consequences, they may become disillusioned and disheartened. This sort of activity may be discouraged with a clear policy. In the workplace, there are two sorts of sexual harassment: What’s in it for me? and Working in a hostile environment.
- What’s in it for me?
- Working in a hostile environment
What’s in it for me? means “this for that.” This is usually encountered when a supervisor requests sexual favors from a subordinate employee and promises something in return, like a promotion or raise. This behavior is clearly inappropriate.
Working in a hostile environment occurs when sexual harassment is so frequent or intense that it changes the workplace for the person being harassed. It can happen from sexual jokes, sexual compliments, pornographic images, and physical touching. These actions make it difficult for someone to do their job and they tend to be stressed and overwhelmed by the actions of the harasser, creating a Working in a hostile environment.
What Should Your Sexual Harassment Policy Contain?
Sexual harassment is a difficult topic to broach, but it is one that must be addressed. The inclusion of a policy may deter workers from participating in such improper conduct, ensuring that all employees work in a safe and enjoyable atmosphere. The following elements should be included in your sexual harassment policy to guarantee compliance and make it obvious that your organization will not allow such conduct.
Define Sexual Harassment & Who’s Subject to the Policy
When defining sexual harassment, you do not need to include the exact terms “What’s in it for me?” or “Working in a hostile environment,” though you certainly may. Most important is that you broadly define sexual harassment and provide examples of prohibited behavior. Note that your examples of sexual harassment are not all-inclusive and are provided only for illustration.
A declaration indicating which workers are covered by the policy should also be included in the policy. This should apply to all of your company’s employees. No one should be exempt from this regulation.
Process of Investigation
The method and basic schedule for the inquiry should be included in your sexual harassment policy. It all starts with a formal complaint, which may be lodged by the harassed employee or by an HR representative on their behalf.
The complaint should contain as much information as possible regarding the occurrence or recurring incidences of sexual harassment, including everyone involved’s identities and employment descriptions. This provides enough information for the HR team to begin interviewing the suspected harasser and any witnesses.
As new evidence is discovered, the inquiry process may go off course. It’s best not to detail every phase of the inquiry, but rather to provide a general overview of how HR will handle it. Interviews and evidence collection may be part of this process, which may eventually lead to a decision by HR.
Include projected timescales if possible. Your HR staff should begin the inquiry as soon as possible after receiving the complaint, generally within one working day. This may seem to be too quick, but delays in reviewing a true sexual harassment allegation might result in your company—and in certain jurisdictions, your HR employees—being held accountable. The sooner you start an inquiry, the more likely you are to find accurate and truthful facts about what happened.
Set a deadline for the investigation’s completion as well. We propose one to two months if there are no additional factors that might cause the project to be delayed.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality might be a major problem, especially for the accuser. A statement on confidentiality should be included in your policy, stating that your HR staff will keep information secret to the greatest degree feasible. This implies that in order to get correct information, the accuser’s identity may need to be exposed during negotiations with the accused and any witnesses.
Evidence acquired as well as recordings of conversations with the persons involved will be kept private. This information should be kept in double-locked, confidential HR files with only HR employees having access.
Make it clear in your policy that any retribution against an employee who files a complaint will not be tolerated. Under the policy, this sort of activity should result in disciplinary action.
Discipline
The last section of your sexual harassment policy deals with what happens if an employee violates the policy. We propose a written warning as minimal disciplinary action. The majority of progressive disciplinary rules start with a verbal warning, but infractions of a sexual harassment policy need more severe punishment. A formal warning will be included with the employee’s personnel file, demonstrating the gravity of their acts.
If the investigation supports it, your policy should also contain language that allows you to pick a harsher sanction, like termination, if the investigation warrants it. Even if it’s a first offense, the behavior may be so terrible that you don’t want that person in your company anymore. Termination may be the best choice for all parties involved in various situations.
State-by-State Analysis
Sexual harassment accusations were down in 2020, according to the EEOC, however, this might be due to more individuals working remotely due to the epidemic. Sexual harassment accusations in the workplace have been gradually rising for many years.
For firms with at least 15 workers, federal law forbids sex discrimination in the workplace. Some states go above and beyond the federal definition of sexual harassment. It’s worth noting that several states have passed laws against sexual harassment that are essentially the same as the federal statute.
Conclusion
Small companies, like any other firm, suffer sexual harassment difficulties. The establishment of a firm sexual harassment policy will make it apparent to all workers that this sort of conduct will not be tolerated. Using our free template as a starting point for preventing sexual harassment and safeguarding your workers and organization is a fantastic idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be included in an anti-harassment policy?
An anti-harassment policy should include things like prohibiting bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment. It will also probably contain guidelines for how employees are to express themselves in the workplace that is not offensive or culturally insensitive.
What are the 3 types of harassment?
Harassment is any unwanted behavior that a person construes as offensive or threatening. This can be in the form of physical, verbal, sexual, cyber-based harassment, and much more.
