Working with Harassment Law

Learn about working with harassment law to help prevent workplace harassment
By Jessica Saras, Writer As a business owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that your employees know and follow the laws on harassment in the workplace. In order to maintain a comfortable and productive working environment, your employees must follow all of the workplace harassment laws.

When most people think of harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment is probably what comes to mind. However, harassment law protects employees from all areas of harassment, including racial, verbal and sexual harassment. To prevent all types of harassment, employees should be trained on federal harassment laws. It's also important to educate employees on the true definition of harassment and what types of acts meet those standards, including:

1. Leering or staring;

2. Making negative comments about a person's gender, skin color, ethnic background, sexual orientation, handicap or religious beliefs;

3. And telling inappropriate jokes or sending inappropriate emails.

Train employees on harassment laws

To ensure all of your employees know what constitutes harassment in the workplace, make sure you offer up-to-date training.
Try:  FairMeasures.com provides certified training on harassment in the workplace. Using input from renowned harassment attorneys, the program explains the legal definition of harassment as well as some common causes for such behavior. In addition, the program also provides strategies that will help prevent future cases of harassment in the workplace. It is also a good idea to do independent research and find tips that may help your specific business. Nolo.com offers free information that can help you learn how to maintain a comfortable working environment that is free of harassment.

Post information for reporting harassment

To keep your business free of harassment, your employees should know how to report harassing behaviors and feel comfortable doing so.
Try:  One of the most common reasons employees fail to report workplace harassment is simply because they are unable to find the information and their company does not encourage them to do so. Read a shocking article on the subject at Management-Issues.com. In addition to posting the proper way to report harassment, make sure your management staff sends clear messages that harassment in the workplace is unacceptable. Check out HR Specialist to learn the mistakes that are most commonly made by employers and their managers.

Consult with a harassment lawyer

Harassment lawyers have a wealth of information regarding harassment law. Due to the amount of cases they've handled, business owners can benefit from their knowledge.
Try:  Find a harassment attorney in your area. MyEmploymentLawyer.com offers online listings of workplace harassment lawyers located across the United States. Before meeting with the attorney, make sure you understand the laws about harassment. The American Bar Association offers free articles for employers with tips for preventing both verbal and sexual harassment in the workplace.

• Do research on your state's harassment laws. Because each state has different requirements regarding harassment training, it's important to make sure your training covers all of the essential materials.