{"id":111,"date":"2017-11-27T14:35:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T14:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsite.payrollmedics.com\/blog\/?p=111"},"modified":"2017-12-12T15:35:45","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T15:35:45","slug":"10-steps-in-preventing-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace-metoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.payrollmedics.com\/blog\/10-steps-in-preventing-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace-metoo\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Steps in Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace #MeToo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year, nearly 27,000 charges of sexual harassment were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This number doesn\u2019t include charges filed with state and local agencies or situations where employees went directly to an attorney, and many employees who are victims of sexual harassment or are affected by it never report the incidents at all.<\/p>\n

Victims and witnesses of harassment often refrain from reporting because the harasser has the power to retaliate or because the organization has not set up adequate channels for reporting. In other cases, victims report the harassment, but nothing is done about it. The harassment is excused, and the complaints are rebuffed. Word gets around that the organization tolerates harassment, and people cease reporting it internally. They either keep quiet, file charges with a governmental agency, or seek out an attorney.<\/p>\n

None of these outcomes is good for employers or for the people they employ. If litigation ensues, harassment can cost employers hundreds of thousands of dollars\u2014millions even, if harassment is pervasive in the company culture. And when harassment continues unabated, victims suffer physically and psychologically, and often see their careers stifled.<\/p>\n

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Needless to say, the workplace should be a safe and secure place, and it\u2019s the employer\u2019s responsibility to make it that way. No one can prevent all harassment from happening, but employers can and should do everything in their power to prevent harassment and appropriately respond when it occurs. Training employees on what constitutes harassment and how to respond to it is a good and necessary first step, but employers also need to establish multiple options for reporting, investigate allegations promptly and thoroughly, and take appropriate steps to discipline violators.<\/p>\n

The EEOC recommends these additional preventive measures:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n