Vermont Passes New Sexual Harassment Law

Posted on by

In the latest example of “keeping up with the Joneses,” last week Vermont passed new legislation aimed at reducing (and publicizing) incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace. Similar to laws passed in many other states in the wake of the #MeToo movement, Vermont’s new law guarantees independent contractors, volunteers, and interns a working environment “free from harassment,” just as it does regular employees.

Changes to Settlement Agreements

Vermont no longer allows companies to prohibit individuals who have settled claims of sexual harassment with the employer from working with that organization in the future. This is a sweeping change that is unique in the country, in that it makes it easier for employees who resolve claims to return to their jobs, or work for the company where the incident occurred in the future.

Investigation Procedures Revamped

Investigation practices are also changing under the new Vermont sexual harassment law. Prior to the passage of this legislation the Vermont Attorney General did not have the specific right to visit places of employment and examine their harassment prevention practices. Beginning July 1, employers will need to watch out for representatives from the Vermont Department of Human Rights auditing practices or even ordering training sessions if they find deficiencies in organizational harassment prevention tactics.

Online Filing System Implemented for Charges of Harassment

Lastly, Vermont’s new law is making it easier for complainants to file charges of sexual harassment and discrimination by allowing charges to be filed wholly online. By eliminating physical steps to be taken, the legislature aims to streamline the process in hopes that more victims will come forward with allegations of harassment. Of course, whenever state legislatures take these steps it makes it easier for frivolous claims to also be filed, which is why educating your workforce on what harassment is (and is not) has become all the more important in the wake of the new law.

If you have employees in Vermont we encourage you to contact a member of Syntrio’s staff to learn more about training options that are available to you and your organization.

Syntrio is a leader in the human resources and employment law fields (as well as ethics and compliance) and is prepared to help your company implement a compliance program aimed at reducing the potential impact of harassment, discrimination and other employment law issues your organization may face. Syntrio takes an innovative philosophy towards employment law training program design and strives to engineer engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking content.

 

Contact www.syntrio.com for more information about our discrimination, harassment, and prevention of retaliation online courses and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn for daily updates on corporate compliance that impact your company.

Written by, Jon Gonzalez, Esq., Chief Counsel for Syntrio

 

Connecticut Enacts Law Barring Employers from Asking About Prior Compensation

Posted on by

Beginning on January 1, 2019 Connecticut employers of all sizes will no longer be allowed to inquire into prospective employees’ past compensation and compensation structures. On May 22, 2018 Connecticut Governor Daniel Malloy signed into law the “Act Concerning Pay Equity,” a new law aimed at protecting prospective employee privacy with respect to past compensation.

On May 22, 2018, Connecticut Governor Daniel Malloy signed into law the Act Concerning Pay Equity

Unlike some other similar laws around the country, Connecticut’s law will likely apply to any employee who files an application or interviews with a company in that state. In addition to inquiries about wage and salary history, the new law will prohibit employers from asking questions that may reveal the type and structure of compensation and the value of individual elements of how an employee was paid at his or her former jobs.

Important for employers to understand, violations of this new law will be serious, and can have financial implications if it is not followed. Indeed, the Act Concerning Pay Equity creates a private right of action for prospective employees to bring a claim against the employer. This claim will likely also be tied to discrimination or other employment law claims that could subject an employer to very costly litigation far into the future, as the claims carry a two-year statute of limitation.

Now may be a good time to review your company’s hiring policies

Now may be a good time to review your company’s hiring policies and/or application materials, and to re-train hiring managers to ensure they are no longer asking questions about salary history or compensation structure. It can be easy to fall into traps during an interview when employees begin asking questions about how they will be paid at their new job, if hired. Unless an employee offers up his prior pay unsolicited, your managers should never ask any questions that may even be probative of salary history or past compensation.

We strongly recommend consulting with our representatives to learn more about the training resources Syntrio offers to prevent wage and hour issues in the workplace. Syntrio’s subject matter experts are well in tune with changes to the law, and can help you and your company craft a plan of prevention that suits your business needs, no matter its size. We invite you to contact us today at 888-289-6670 or by filling out the online form available here.

Syntrio is a leader in the human resources and employment law fields (as well as ethics and compliance) and is prepared to help your company implement a compliance program aimed at reducing the potential impact of harassment, discrimination and other employment law issues your organization may face. Syntrio takes an innovative philosophy towards employment law training program design and strives to engineer engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking content.

Contact www.syntrio.com for more information about our discrimination, harassment, and prevention of retaliation online courses and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn for daily updates on corporate compliance that impact your company.

 

California Sexual Harassment Training Requirements May Soon Broaden

Posted on by

Always a leader in employee-friendly legislation, California could not be undone by the recent New York City and New York State training requirements aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. Indeed, on May 30, 2018, the California State Senate passed SB 1343, which seeks to broaden sexual harassment training requirements already in place under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). already in place under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

California may soon require ALL employees to receive training 

Should SB 1343 be signed into law (and there is no indication it will not sometime this summer) California would require all employees in workplaces larger than 5 employees to receive bi-annual two-hour training on sexual harassment prevention, abusive conduct in the workplace, and bystander intervention by 2020. The current requirement is limited to supervisory employees in workplaces employing 50 or more employees. Such a move would obviously be significant, as it would create an onerous requirement on employers to scramble for new training and force existing providers to adjust their programs to fit the new needs of an exponential number of new small businesses were the bill to pass.

As always, Syntrio remains ahead of the curve on these matters, and is already well into development on revised versions of our AB1825 courseware and a new, non-managerial employee version of the course. Although we recommend providing all employees training as a matter of company policy, obviously the California legislature’s attempt to take matters into its own hands is forcing the issue.

Stay tuned to Syntrio’s blog for further updates on this developing story. 

Syntrio is a leader in the human resources and employment law fields (as well as ethics and compliance) and is prepared to help your company implement a compliance program aimed at reducing the potential impact of harassment, discrimination and other employment law issues your organization may face. Syntrio takes an innovative philosophy towards employment law training program design and strives to engineer engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking content.

Contact www.syntrio.com for more information about our discrimination, harassment, and prevention of retaliation online courses and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn for daily updates on corporate compliance that impact your company.

 

Minnesota State Legislature Aims to Make Sweeping Changes to Sexual Harassment Laws

Posted on by

The wave of sexual harassment and #MeToo legislation does not appear to be cresting anytime soon, as Minnesota is the latest state with employers in its crosshairs. After months of debate, the Minnesota state legislature seeks to enact a series of laws that would make sweeping changes to the State’s sexual harassment laws. Despite their best intentions, you should keep in mind that when these sorts of changes occur they are never good for the employer.

Minnesota Seeks to Eliminate “Severe and Pervasive” Standard

The first proposed change to Minnesota’s sexual harassment law is an elimination of the decades-old “severe and pervasive” standard for evaluating misconduct that is arguably harassing. Under the current standard, in order to be sexual harassment, conduct must be “unwelcome or unwanted, offensive to a reasonable person, and severe and/or pervasive in nature.” This means that simple jokes and offensive comments that are one off do not generally constitute workplace harassment. Were Minnesota to get its way this year, every comment or incident of inappropriate behavior could be grounds for a harassment claim.

Important to note, the proposed legislative change has been met with severe opposition from the business community and local governments, which [correctly] claim changing the law will lead to a wave of litigation and unnecessary financial burden. With any luck, the legislature will see the danger in adding this new language to Minnesota’s already stringent statutory prohibition on sexual harassment and will keep the status quo to help employers avoid a new wave of litigation.

Non-Disclosure Language in Sexual Harassment Suits in Jeopardy

Another important proposed change seeks to eliminate non-disclosure language in sexual harassment settlement agreements. This proposed change tracks similar legislation in New York and California and is aimed at making incidents more high-profile and public. The current majority of sexual harassment settlement agreements include confidentiality language prohibiting both parties from disparaging one another in the event the parties reach a settlement on a claim of sexual harassment. This is standard language that keep the matter private and avoids big press on incidents. Should the proposed change pass, employers would no longer be able to bargain for non-disclosure. This sort of language will likely cause settlement figures to drop and more cases to go to trial, as employers will be less likely to provide compensation knowing they will likely be all over the news and deemed “guilty” without even going to trial.

We strongly recommend consulting with our representatives to learn more about the training resources Syntrio offers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Syntrio’s subject matter experts are well in tune with changes to the law, and can help you and your company craft a plan of prevention that suits your business needs, no matter its size. We invite you to contact us today at 888-289-6670 or by filling out the online form available here.

Syntrio is a leader in the human resources and employment law fields (as well as ethics and compliance) and is prepared to help your company implement a compliance program aimed at reducing the potential impact of harassment, discrimination and other employment law issues your organization may face. Syntrio takes an innovative philosophy towards employment law training program design and strives to engineer engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking content.

Contact www.syntrio.com for more information about our discrimination, harassment, and prevention of retaliation online courses and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn for daily updates on corporate compliance that impact your company.

What’s Not in Your Social Media Policy—But Really Should Be

Posted on by

Social media platforms can be an invaluable tool to build a brand and drive business. But without a clear policy in place, your company risks at best embarrassment and at worst legal action against it should an employee engage in illegal activity.

Management and human resource professionals may not be aware of everything that should be covered by a social media policy, given how fast things are moving. While new platforms are being created all the time and are constantly morphing, there are a few evergreen guidelines you should be emphasizing in your social media policy.

Evergreen Guidelines:

Remind employees about the line between personal and professional.
The majority of the workforce has grown up with social media of one kind or another, and has used it for just that: social purposes. Whether they like it or not, however, their personal public posts can have an impact on their careers, particularly if they list your company name in a personal profile. Employees must remember they are brand ambassadors in any public context and behave with professionalism.

If it’s confidential, it doesn’t belong online.
It should go without saying that any proprietary information needs to remain internal, but you can’t depend on common sense to rule the day. Be explicit in your policy, and you can avoid losing business because of employee indiscretion online. Likewise, a company should encourage employee complaints or conflicts to be properly addressed away from an online audience that includes customers, partners or competitors.

Training is key.
In addition to a clear policy, employees should understand the terms of use for all the social media platforms in which they are engaging. If one of your employees violates the site’s terms of use, conditions and/or limitations, this violation affects not only the employee but may limit your company’s ability to use the site in the future. Profanity, cyber bullying and posting any offensive material all fall into this category.

Syntrio’s Social Media Ethics course provides employees at all levels an overview of social media, guidelines on using time and resources wisely, and concrete examples of conflicts of interest and offensive posts. It’s a great way to efficiently start a conversation about an increasingly important aspect of ethical behavior in the workplace.


Syntrio is a leader in the human resources and employment law fields (as well as ethics and compliance) and is prepared to help your company implement a compliance program aimed at reducing the potential impact of harassment, discrimination and other employment law issues your organization may face. Syntrio takes an innovative philosophy towards employment law training program design and strives to engineer engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking content.

Contact www.syntrio.com for more information about our discrimination, harassment, and prevention of retaliation online courses and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn for daily updates on corporate compliance that impact your company.