Workplaces need solid harassment prevention policy

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Question: The owner of the Waikiki Senor Frog’s restaurant and bar recently agreed to pay $350,000 to settle complaints of male managers sexually harassing 13 female employees. In that case managers were accused of groping female workers’ breasts and buttocks and demanding sex from them. What should an employee do if he or she has been a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace?

Answer: Employees should bring the incident

to the attention of management immediately. In addition to the claims of sexual harassment against Senor Frog’s, the lawsuit alleged that managers routinely urged employees, many of whom were under legal drinking age, to drink alcohol with them. Clearly there was a disconnect with managers about appropriate managerial behavior.

Preventing this kind of behavior can be particularly challenging in a social gathering-type workplace where alcohol is often served. But the issue has the potential to arise at any workplace.

Q: What do managers need to do to make sure their workplace is free of sexual harassment and avoid a case similar to what happened at Senor Frog’s?

A: Employers must be able to demonstrate that they have a solid harassment prevention program in place, including a written policy, training and complaint handling procedure. First, the employer’s policy against harassment should be distributed to employees upon hire and regularly redistributed to employees, perhaps annually as a reminder. Second, a harassment training program is essential to educate managers and supervisors on their responsibilities to behave in a professional manner, and to respond once the issue is brought to their attention. Training for all staff is strongly encouraged so employees know the behavioral standards and what to do if they have observed, heard or were impacted by inappropriate behavior. Third, employers must have a solid complaint handling procedure to address any and all issues that arise. The complaint procedure requires employers to respond to the complaint honestly, vigorously and promptly. 

Having a solid harassment prevention program in place can not only prevent sexual harassment from happening, but it can also make an employer less vulnerable to unfounded harassment claims or frivolous lawsuits. Unscrupulous employees are less likely to make a false claim if a strong prevention program is in place.

Q: Who can an employee go to if his or her boss is the one doing the sexual harassment?

A: Understandably, employees might feel embarrassed reporting sexual harassment and/or fear retaliation for reporting it, especially if the harasser is their boss. In general, reports should always be made to a neutral person, i.e., somebody not involved in the harassment. The employer’s complaint handling procedure should outline specifically whom an employee should go to with the complaint, offering multiple avenues of complaint other than the boss (or the one doing the harassing). These can include anyone in a management or supervisory position, a human resource representative, a senior manager or a third party. This person or party will listen to the complaint, conduct a thorough investigation or refer it to the party who is responsible for conducting the investigation, and take appropriate remedial action.

If an employee works for a company that does not have a complaint handling procedure in place, or if the employer fails to take corrective action, the employee should seek legal counsel and/or contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission as quickly as possible. They may lose their ability to vindicate their rights if they delay.

Q: With the holiday season upon us, do you have any guidelines for employee behavior at office parties?

A: The best advice is for employees to behave professionally 100 percent of the time they are with co-workers. Once social behavior starts at events like a holiday party, trade show or after-hours business meal, the lines can become blurred. Often these are occasions that can hurt employees’ reputations and possibly their careers, damage a company’s image and certainly affect the victim.

With holiday parties, employers should use caution. At ProService we suggest to our employer clients that they distribute the policy prior to holiday events to remind all employees about behavioral standards, dress code and code of conduct. Another tactic is to designate a supervisor or two to be in charge of monitoring employee behavior and defusing potential situations before they arise.

While the focus of a holiday party should be on celebrating, employers should be certain that employees conduct themselves professionally or risk having employee morale and legal issues on their hands.