Sexual Harassment An employer having fifty (5O) or more employees must also provide two (2) hours of training and education to all supervisory employees of employees in the State of Connecticut within six months of their assumption of a supervisory position. Nothing in these regulations shall prohibit an employer from providing more than two hours of training and education.
Describing the federal and state statutory provisions prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace with which the employer is required to comply; Defining sexual harassment; Discussing the types of conduct that may constitute sexual harassment under the law, including the fact that the harasser or the victim of harassment may be either a man or a woman and that harassment can occur involving persons of the same or opposite sex; Describing the remedies available in sexual harassment cases, including, but not limited to, cease and desist orders; hiring, promotion or reinstatement; compensatory damages and back pay; Advising employees that individuals who commit acts of sexual harassment may be subject to both civil and criminal penalties; Discussing strategies to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace; Informing training participants that all complaints of sexual harassment must be taken seriously, and that once a complaint is made, supervisory employees should report it immediately to officials designated by the employer, and that the contents of the complaint are personal and confidential and are not to be disclosed except to those persons with a need to know; Conducting experiential exercises such as role playing, coed group discussions and behavior modeling to facilitate understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment and how to prevent it; Teaching the importance of interpersonal skills such as listening and bringing participants to understand what a person who is sexually harassed may be experiencing; Advising employees of the importance of preventive strategies to avoid the negative effects sexual harassment has upon both the victim and the overall productivity of the workplace due to interpersonal conflicts, poor performance, absenteeism, turnover and grievances; Explaining the benefits of learning about and eliminating sexual harassment which include a more positive work environment with greater productivity and potentially lower exposure to liability, in that employers--and supervisors personally--have been held liable when it is shown that they knew or should have known of the harassment; Explaining the employer's policy against sexual harassment, including a description of the procedures available for reporting instances of sexual harassment and the types of disciplinary actions which can and will be taken against persons who have been found to have engaged in sexual harassment; and Discussing the perceptual and communication differences among all persons and, in this context, the concepts of "reasonable woman" and "reasonable man" developed in federal sexual harassment cases. | 2 | 10 years |