Did you know if an employee is harassed within your workplace, you can be found liable?
In recent events, one of our HR Services supplier Eclipse EIO dealt with a situation where an employee was harassed within the workplace. One of the owners of the company harassed one of the workers at the company, resulting in the employee wishing to file charges against the company. Fortunately, Eclipse EIO had implemented a Violence and Harassment Policy and all employees were trained on the policy prior to the incident. An investigation was conducted and based on the findings, the employer was fired for harassment against the worker. Due to Eclipse EIO’s ability to de-escalate the incident and follow the proper procedures, the employee dropped the charges against the company.
Incidents-like this one-can happen. That’s why Eclipse EIO helps encourage plan sponsors to take a proactive approach to employee issues.
What Plan Sponsors Need to Do
Ensure they implement a Violence and Harassment Policy and ensure you give the employees knowledge and training on the policy implemented.
How to Implement
- Print off the Violence and Harassment Policy
- Review the policy with your Management team and discuss the implementation process.
- Have all employees trained on Bill 132: Violence and Harassment in the Workplace by your HR manager.
- Have each employee sign off on the policy, to ensure you have records of the meeting.
- Post the policy (signed by the owner/president) where all employees have access to.
Those clients of Eclipse EIO who needed further assistance with the process, were encouraged to reach out to their assigned HR Manager at Eclipse to schedule training dates. Clearly, if an employer does not have access to HR services in house, an in-bedded solution like Eclipse EIO might be an appropriate service solution for benefits and HR management.