Harassment prevention is still a top priority for federal agencies (which means it should be a priority for all employers). Last spring, we blogged about the EEOC’s guidance on this issue, and now the OFCCP has issued its own guidance, this time focusing on harassment in the construction industry.
There is nothing particularly new in the OFCCP’s guidance, but there are some good reminders for all employers (not just those in the construction industry), listed as “promising practices contractors should follow.” Some of those practices are:
- Communicate (as often as possible) that harassment will not be tolerated and include examples.
- Train staff on how to identify and combat harassment.
- Post EEO policy statements making clear that harassment is prohibited at all sites.
- Develop formal procedures on how an employee can file a complaint (and the name of the person to contact) and how supervisors and management should handle complaints and investigations.
Takeaways and Planning for the New Year
Again, this is not new information. As a year-end tune up, think about:
- When did you last update your harassment policy? If not already in there, think about making explicit that you prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Be sure your policy makes clear that you prohibit harassment by visitors, customers, and others, not just by employees.
- When did you last send the harassment policy to your employees? If it has been more than a year, think about distributing it again (and documenting it).
- Have you trained your employees or managers about your policy, including how to file or handle a complaint? Think about the best way to do so, and document that you have done it.
- If you have not had a complaint in a while (which is great by the way), think about your process for handling them. Do you have people on staff who know how to investigate a complaint? Do you need to get some additional training on investigations and documentation?
- Do your employees (and managers) understand that a complaint will not result in retaliation? Do you have measures in place to allow for a complaint to be filed outside the chain of command?