Online Class: Sexual Harassment Compliance

Sexual harassment is a hot topic in today's world--both in the corporate arena and in the personal arena. In this online class we will explore the concept of sexual harassment and look at solutions. Most of the ideas here will be directed toward the corporate arena, however many of the definitions and concepts apply equally to both arenas.

Be aware that many aspects of the rules and concepts governing sexual harassment are part of law. That means they must be respected and followed, but it also means that they are changing--constantly. Any sub-topic within the legal field is part of a living code, that means the code has been set out but is always being refined, talked about, tested, renewed, and sometimes discarded. Fifty years ago, online sexual harassment wasn't an issue; today it is. So be aware that this course is not going to replace solid legal council in the area of sexual harassment. Instead, this course will be a guideline to help you understand and end sexual harassment in the workplace. To that end, we'll provide practical advice, suggestions, and ideas on how to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and moreover, we'll go into the necessary procedures/guidelines your personnel/HR department should have in place (and posted) in case there is an instance of sexual harassment.

Courses Frequently Bought Together:

Sensitivity Training for the Workplace

Workplace Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era

Gender Sensitivity Training

Course Motivation

Defining Sexual Harassment and understanding the issues involved

Sexual harassment is a hot topic in today's world ' both in the corporate arena and in the personal arena. In the first section of this manual, we will explore the concept of sexual harassment and look at solutions. Most of the ideas here will be directed toward the corporate arena, however many of the definitions and concepts apply equally to both arenas.

Be aware that many aspects of the rules and concepts governing sexual harassment are part of law. That means they must be respected and followed, but it also means that they are changing -- constantly. Any sub-topic within the legal field is part of a living code, that means the code has been set out but is always being refined, talked about, tested, renewed, and sometimes discarded. Fifty years ago, online sexual harassment wasn't an issue; today it is. So be aware that this course is not going to replace solid legal council in the area of sexual harassment. Instead, this course will be a guideline to help you understand and end sexual harassment in the workplace. To that end, we'll provide practical advice and suggestions and the ideas discussed here are not to be considered legal advice. Seek professional guidance for more detailed inquiries.

Know it

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) operates a helpful website discussing sexual harassment. This site should be one of your first "go to" steps if you have questions and those questions are either not answered here or you are not sure if you should contact a lawyer or the police just yet.

 Sexual harassment includes a variety of actions, much more than most people realize. These actions include:

• Unwelcome sexual advances
• Requests for sexual favors
• Verbal suggestions of a sexual nature
• Physical conduct of a sexual nature

 Furthermore, it is considered sexual harassment when any response (either going along with it or rejecting it) could affect someone's employment or interferes with their work or creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment.

 Contrary to popular belief, sexual harassment is not necessarily only between people of opposite gender, and the victim is not necessarily the recipient of the sexually explicit talk or action.

1. One woman makes an unwelcome sexual advance on another woman. The law would recognize this as sexual harassment even though the harasser is a woman the victim is of the same gender.
2. One man tells another man a sexually explicit story or joke. The second man laughs about it. A third person -- a man or woman, it doesn't matter -- finds the joke offensive. Even though that third person was not actively involved in telling or hearing the story, and may not have been nearby while it was being told, they are still considered to be the victim of sexual harassment if they found the story or joke to be unwelcome.

Therefore: It is a good rule of thumb in every business setting to simply say that all action and talk of a sexual nature with anyone is unwelcome. Period.

Apply it

Case study: You are a human resources manager. Someone comes into your office and says that a customer was making sexual comments to them. Is this a sexual harassment situation?

Answer: Yes, if the sexual comments were unwelcome and made for an offensive work environment. There is a good chance that this is the case if the employee has come to talk to you about it.

Think about it

 In this section we'll explore issues and scenarios and ask you to think about them in order to make the learning applicable to your life. Is it fair to call it "sexual harassment" if you and a friend share a funny (but explicit) joke but a bystander overhears you? As a human resources manager, what would you do if a bystander thinks they overhear a sexually explicit joke but the alleged joke teller denies they told the joke ' or re-tells the joke and it turns out to be completely innocent?

• To understand what sexual harassment is
• To learn what behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable
• To learn solutions for preventing sexual harassment
• To understand procedures and guidelines to follow when a sexual harassment incident occurs

This course is designed as a series of five concise and comprehensive lessons to guide you in the learning process.  

• Lesson 1: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
• Lesson 2: Assessing Problem Situations and preventing sexual harassment
• Lesson 3: Responding Effectively to sexual harassment (recognizing and reporting incidents)
• Lesson 4: Understanding the Law - State and Federal
• Lesson 5: Designing Policies and Procedures