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,
Make Your Next Sexual Harassment Prevention Training a “Wow”
More than ever before, the topic of sexual harassment is dominating the news (and this blog). It’s time to make sure that your company’s sexual harassment prevention training is up to the task.
Fox Rothschild’s skilled team of attorney trainers will tailor a program to meet your company’s needs. Take a break from the
Top 10 Trends Facing California Employers in 2018
Another year brings another top 10 list!
After a year dominated by harassment issues, this Alert sets forth the top 10 trends I saw in my practice from 2017 that inform what California employers can expect in 2018. Best wishes to all for 2018!
New California Employment Laws – 2018
It’s time once again for the annual roundup of new California employment laws. Since we’ve discussed many of these laws when they were enacted, I’m including links to those earlier discussions.
- Stop asking about salary history – AB 168 bars employers from asking job applicants about their previous salary. The legislation’s goal is to narrow
California Updates Its Harassment Prevention Training Requirement (SB 396)
What a year it has been for harassment claims. The biggest year in the 22 years I have been practicing law. It seems that every day there is a big new headline or rejuvenated social media campaign, and someone else powerful losing their job over harassment allegations.
It is astounding to me that there are
5 Steps to Prevent Third-Party Harassment Claims
Koko the Gorilla, who turned 46 last month, has quite a following. Much of that has to do with the fact that she purportedly has a vocabulary of over 1000 words that she communicates through sign language. If this were a blog about linguistics, primate behavior, or how the Planet of the Apes movies
New Harassment Checklists from the EEOC
A year ago, I wrote about a report from an EEOC Task Force on risk factors for workplace harassment. Well the Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace continues studying away and has issued some new materials. They consist of: