When you own a business, it is important for you to take every step that you can to ensure that you do everything that you can to protect your employees from sexual harassment. Many employers do not realize that it is their responsibility to handle any sexual harassment claims that occur. The following guide walks you through a few tips to use to ensure that sexual harassment is handled properly at your business:
Meet with a Sexual Harassment Attorney
Before you can establish a protocol for how sexual harassment is handled, you need to meet with an attorney that specializes in sexual harassment. You need to know what your legal obligation is when it comes to being an employer. You need to know what steps you have to take in order to be able to fire someone for sexual harassment and if you are legally bound to report it to the police if it is reported to you. Taking the time to find out all of the legalities of sexual harassment will ensure that you always handle harassment properly.
Establish a Protocol for How Harassment Will be Handled
You will need to establish a protocol for how sexual harassment will be handled at your business. You want to be sure that there is a protocol in writing that dictates what will happen if someone is accused of harassment and what the repercussions will be. This will ensure that your employees know that you are serious about sexual harassment and will not tolerate it.
Properly Train Your Employees About Sexual Harassment
In order for your employees to be held accountable for sexual harassment, you need to have them properly trained to know what constitutes as sexual harassment so that they can avoid it. You also need to walk your employees through the process of reporting harassment if they experience it. This will ensure that everyone knows what to do so that harassment can be stopped as soon as possible.
If someone does report sexual harassment, you need to follow the protocol that you created closely. You want to be sure that you take every legal step that you are required to take before terminating someone from their job. If the workplace becomes uncomfortable for the person that was the victim of the harassment, you need to find a way to keep the victim and the harasser separated so that all of your employees can work in a comfortable work environment.
Contact a sexual harassment attorney for more information and assistance.
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