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Jury Awards Millions to Employee!

Yes, the price of discrimination and harassment today can be huge, not only for employers, but also for individual supervisors and managers.

Some supervisors may think harassment training is only conducted to protect their organization from liability. However, in some jurisdictions, supervisors can be held personally liable for harassment.

You might think that large damage awards result only when harassment is particularly outrageous. Not necessarily. High punitive damages are often awarded because an employer didn't follow its own policies or complaints of harassment were ignored.

This means the way that you respond to harassment complaints on the job is crucial!

Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors is a self-paced online training course by Workplace Answers designed to provide employers with an affirmative defense against harassment claims. It meets the training requirements of California State Law AB 1825, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and U.S. Supreme Court. (Linda Pacheco's review of the Workplace Answers course Diversity Benefits is here.)

Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors content reflects both recent legislation and case law. It is applicable to California employers and many outside the state, as many other states have recognized the need for employers to take preventative steps against harassment.

The course includes four 30-minute sections, each of which builds upon previous material:

• Sexual Harassment and the Law
• Employer and Supervisor Responsibility
• Complaints, Confidentiality, and Retaliation
• Intersectional Harassment and Advanced Situations

During the course, the student will learn about the law and apply this knowledge to real-world employment situations. Students are presented with scenarios—in some cases, they build on each other—and are asked to answer questions about them.

When they progress to the next slide, they are able to check their answer against the correct answer. Though some of the scenarios may seem extreme, all are based on facts from actual legal cases and anecdotes from human resources professionals.

The course is structured so that it can be completed in a two-hour sitting, which meets California requirements, or it can be taken over several sessions. The system bookmarks where users exit, allowing them to pick right up where they left off.

In addition to the course content, additional material is available through the top navigation toolbar. A glossary of terms, your company’s harassment policy (or sample harassment policy if you choose not to customize), and a help menu are available.

You can choose to add an AskHR button to the navigation toolbar, allowing users to contact your organization’s human resources department directly with any questions they might have. A certificate of completion can be printed out with the student's name on it.

Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors is a well-designed self-paced course. Its content is definitely appropriate for supervisors.

Users progress through a series of slides, which combine text, pictures that need to be clicked to get additional material, and scenarios with questions and answers testing user knowledge. The course is well organized and easy to comprehend.

In Section One, I like the presentation and description of the federally protected categories and state and locally protected categories. Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors is the first course I’ve personally encountered that mentions gender identity as a protected category in some jurisdictions.

I also like Practical Points, concise bullet points of information that review the material presented in earlier slides.

The scenarios used throughout the course are my favorite feature. They are thought provoking, which means students are not answering questions on automatic pilot, but instead must take a minute to think through how to respond. The scenarios that build on each other are thoughtful and true to life.

I reviewed the off-the-shelf version of Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors, and it will probably meet most organizations' needs. However, if you prefer, you have the ability to completely customize the course content, graphics, scenarios, and wording. About half of Workplace Answer clients customize their courses.

The course is available with optional audio narration, video messaging, and Flash interactive components. It is currently available in six languages. Finally, most courses have specialized versions such as city government, county government, and school/university.

Although my personal choice in most instances is for instructor-led training, I understand the value of online training. In large organizations, in-person training can be time consuming and impractical.

So if you are looking for an effective alternative, this is one of your best options. Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors rates highly for its instructional design and ease of use. The graphics and scenarios represent the diversity in our culture today. And the AskHR feature allows students to ask questions or for clarifications.

Pricing is based on per-user, per-course license fees that range from $20 for 30-minute programs to $40 for 2-hour courses. Volume pricing and multi-year contracts can reduce these license fees.

Workplace Answers courses have been successfully delivered with all popular browsers by PC or Mac, mobile tablet, kiosk, or point-of-sale terminal.

Users have access to a downloadable help guide and same business day email support. In-line pop-up windows provide users with troubleshooting and FAQ contact and access to email support.

Recommendation
Upon completion of the course, all supervisors should have a very thorough knowledge and understanding of the topic. The importance of firmly confronting workplace discrimination and harassment becomes obvious when you understand the damage it can inflict on others and on an organization.

Most importantly, they should understand how important they are to the organization's success in providing a workplace free of harassment and discrimination. Employers have duties under the law and so do supervisors. Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors explains the latter thoroughly and clearly.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Rating