Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/932759
AGGREGATES MANAGER / February 2018 37 local law. The policy also should define harassment and give some specific examples. Each employee should understand how to report harassment and have more than one reporting channel. Each manager or supervisor who receives a complaint must be required to report it to human resources immediately for investigation. Lastly, the policy should clearly state that employees will not be retaliated against for honest reporting of harassment. Employers should include sexual harassment training for all employees as part of the new hire orientation. Additional- ly, the training should be performed regularly to remind all employees of the policy and their obligations to report and investigate. All supervisors or managers should be included in the training. Adopting a schedule to periodically review the policy and make sure yearly training is kept up-to-date helps ensure an employer is taking all steps possible to appropriately handle any sexual harassment issues. Every sexual harassment complaint that is received should be thoroughly investigated. There are guidelines that can be followed to help ensure employers perform a good investiga- tion. Employers must take steps to ensure there is no reta- liation for honest participation in an investigation. While not always feasible, try and provide confidentiality to the extent possible. An investigator should be selected who is not invol- ved in the underlying allegations; sometimes, this will mean hiring an outside investigator. The investigator should create a plan and develop questions. Part of this plan will include crea- ting a list of documents to be reviewed and interviews to be conducted. Then, all relevant witnesses should be interviewed, including the accuser and the accused. A decision will need to be made upon the facts and evidence gathered. This decision should be documented and conveyed to the accuser. Many times, there may not be enough evidence to warrant discipline against the accused, but discussing other options with the accuser may help alleviate problems in the future. These policies and procedures should help employers discover and address sexual harassment in the workplace, recognizing that heterosexual harassment is not the only form of sexual harassment that can occur. An employer must be cognizant of homosexual harassment, bisexual harassment, or even non-sexual harassment if based on gender. Further, the accusers can be both male and female. Adopting policies, instituting regular training, and investigating all complaints of harassment help employers prevent harassment claims and defend against any such claims in court. Similar policies and guidance should be adopted to help prevent all types of work- place discrimination and retaliation. AM ASGCO_AGRM0218_Pg.indd 1 1/3/18 9:58 AM ASGCO_AGRM0218_Pghalf vert.indd 1 1/18/18 10:51 AM