The trend is to move away from holiday parties. Some companies are opting for a family picnic in the summer instead, or a party in January after the holiday season is over. If your company is still planning a holiday party this season, given the heightened attention to harassment issues, here are some tips to
CA Enacts New Anti-Harassment Laws in Response to #MeToo Movement
No lazy Sunday for Governor Jerry Brown! Today he signed four new bills into law, taking major steps to combat sexual harassment in the wake of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Here is a brief overview of the new laws and what they mean for California employers:
- Senate Bill 820 prohibits non-disclosure provisions in settlement
Remember When Koko the Gorilla Was Accused of Sexual Harassment?
Whenever a celebrity dies, everyone glorifies their accomplishments. So the eulogies for Koko the talking gorilla aren’t surprising in the least. But those eulogies tend to overlook that Koko’s many accomplishments include having been the first gorilla to be accused of sexual harassment.
As we explained in the story linked to above, two women
The Role of “Due Process” in Workplace Investigations
Over the past few months, I have read blogs and opinion columns about whether alleged sexual harassers have been proclaimed guilty by their employers and the media without due process. That is, are companies rushing to fire bad actors in the wake of the “me too” movement unfairly?
Some accused harassers are taking a play
Takeaways from Cornell HR in Hospitality Conference
Every year I look forward to attending and presenting at the Cornell HR in Hospitality Conference. It is a great time to connect with clients, contacts, and to learn from the best and brightest in the hospitality industry.
The three big themes this year seemed to be: (1) #metoo and the many repercussions thereof;
#MeToo Hasn’t Led to More Harassment Litigation … Yet
It’s been five months since the #MeToo movement burst onto the scene. Since then, the headlines have been dominated with accusations of grossly inappropriate behavior by prominent politicians, entertainers, business people, and others. So it’s somewhat surprising that, according to acting EEOC Commissioner Victoria Lipnic (as reported in Law360 (subscription required)), the number of
Does Your Harassment Policy Meet These 12 Requirements
When an employer gets sued for sexual harassment, the focus is not on what the alleged harasser did. It’s on what the employer did to provide its employees a harassment-free work environment. This includes both steps taken before anyone complains and steps taken in response to the complaint. So if your goal is to prevent
Even in the #MeToo Era, There Are Limits on How Employers Can Treat Office Romances
The #MeToo movement has understandably made employers more concerned about sexual relations between coworkers. An office romance may seem consensual, but is it really? This is especially problematic when there’s a power differential – such as a supervisor-subordinate relationship.
So what can employers do to prevent coworker relations that they fear may end in a
A Coming of Age for “No Comment” Reference Policies
I read an article yesterday about a writer accused of sexual harassment. So what, you are probably thinking? While articles like that are commonplace these days, what infuriated me was that the individual had been investigated multiple times for sexual harassment related misconduct. The alleged harassment occurred at numerous companies, with prominent HR departments, yet
Challenges of Investigating Harassment Claims in the #MeToo Era
I don’t know Aziz Ansari and I can’t purport to know what happened in his apartment on the night of the first date that has headlined the news this week. But, after 17 years as a labor & employment attorney, with a concentration in counseling on more than 100 sexual harassment claims in the workplace,