The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.

The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.

The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the conduct.

Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.

The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.

It is helpful for the victim to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should make the employer aware of the situation.

Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. You should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. You should do so by providing sexual harassment training to the employees, by establishing an effective process to inform the company leadership and by taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains.

It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation or proceeding.

Statistics

In 2006, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 12,025 charges of sexual harassment. 15.4% of those charges were filed by males. EEOC resolved 11,936 sexual harassment charges in 2006 and recovered $48.8 million in monetary benefits for aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).

Recommendation

Establish and clearly communicate a no-tolerance policy regarding discrimination in the workplace. Train managers, supervisors and leaders on how the policy will be administered. Take every complaint seriously, promptly & thoroughly investigate. Then apply the policy in a non-discriminatory manner, ensuring that harassment as defined by law will not be tolerated. Those of us in Southern Arizona can take advantage of affordable workforce development training as referenced below through Southern Arizona Institute foe Advanced Training. Also CPO can provide guidance, sample policies, investigation and training for your organization.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CPO is proud to announce two very important strategic alliances expanding our offerings to ensure continuous improvement in services and to support your growth. Southern Arizona Institute of Advanced Training (SAIAT) is a leader in providing employment & leadership development. CPO is pleased to announce its partnership with SAIAT. CPO will provide through SAIAT, development and training designed to transform employees, leaders & businesses. Classes will focus on: Customer Service Skills, Human Resource & Management Skills, Administrative Assistant Skills, Supervisory Skills, Communications, Performance Development, Coaching for Performance, Diversity in the Workplace and Preventing Workplace Harassment. SAIAT will offer a certificate in “Workforce Excellence” for completion of electives in this series. The series kicks off August 14th and 16th with 2 Customer Service Courses. Be sure to check out the SAIAT Website, www.saiat.org , for the full Workforce Excellence Training schedule!

“Sexual Harassment”

Training - Partnership with SAIAT

Changes at Our Clients

SUCCESSES

"CPO is a long standing strategic partner with Golden Eagle Distributors. With their partnership we have formulated a new strategic direction and seen that strategy through. CPO was with us every step of the way to achieving our corporate vision."

Christopher W. Clements, CEO, Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc.

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