In October 2017, in light of the #MeToo movement, the HR Break Room podcast devoted an episode to workplace sexual harassment policies. Since that conversation, we continued to receive questions on the subject, not only from our listeners, but Paycom blog readers and webinar attendees.
To answer those questions and examine the topic further, HR Break Room assembled a panel of leaders from Paycom’s legal and HR departments for a follow-up episode: Matthew Paque, vice president of legal and compliance; Tiffany Gamblin, HR manager; and Jason Hines, compliance attorney.
That episode, “Experts Answer: Your Sexual Harassment Policy Questions,” tackles 10 such inquiries. Here are takeaways from three of them.
When it comes to taking action on a complaint of sexual harassment, how can HR protect the company and the reporting individual?
It is the duty of HR to write a policy that protects both. Equally important is documenting that policy and consistently applying it to each report; deviations should not exist. This approach gives employees the assurance that, if sexual harassment claims are brought to light, a procedure and a mechanism are in place to handle these unfortunate scenarios.
Once you have a documented process, it is critical to communicate that procedure to employees year-round so they know how to utilize it. Are they supposed to report to a specific HR contact? Do you have a help line they can call? Is a website easily accessible detailing the steps?
How can you ensure an anonymous report is not just someone griping about another employee and is unrelated to harassment?
If your investigative process is unbiased, fair and consistent, it should be able to determine whether a complaint is fraudulent. False claims aren’t common, and your process should be prepared to weed them out. Make sure all investigation details have been reviewed thoroughly before making a decision, including whether to pursue a new direction.
For a sound investigation, never assume any claim to be frivolous; do your due diligence. In case a claim is found to be untrue, you may want to prepare a disciplinary action for the employee who made the false accusation.
How should an organization handle a harassment claim that involves people outside the company?
Listen to the panel discuss anonymous helplines and how to implement them within your organization, in the HR Break Room episode “Experts Answer: Your Sexual Harassment Policy Questions.”
The best practice for tackling such reports is to treat them as you would any other complaint. It may get tricky if the accused is a client or customer of your business, but strategies do exist. For one, you can report the occurrence to the client’s HR manager, and allow that entity to investigate on your behalf.
It’s also important to ensure an environment that separates the harasser from your employee, because when interaction between the two parties stops, the chances of another incident are greatly minimized. If your client is unwilling to discipline the harasser under its employ, you may wish to consider termination of your business relationship.
Regardless, your employee’s safety comes first. You do not want to give him or her the perception that your sexual harassment policy does not apply to high-paying clients. If your employee perceives he or she is being forced to deal with inappropriate behavior from a customer, that can threaten your organization’s culture and reputation. Your policy should reassure employees they will be safe and that the organization will take steps to remedy complaints.
Listen to the panel discuss seven more listener questions on sexual harassment policy, in the HR Break Room episode “Experts Answer: Your Sexual Harassment Policy Questions.”