Investigating and Resolving Sexual Harassment Claims

Almost two-thirds of employees, or 64 percent, say sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious problem, up from 47 percent in 2015, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. 30 percent of women surveyed have experienced unwanted sexual advances from male co-workers, and 23 percent said they were harassed by men who had influence over their jobs. Of those who reported being subjected to harassment at work, one-third said they were sexually abused. Only 42 percent of the women reported the inappropriate behavior to a supervisor, and 95 percent said the men went unpunished.

Sexual harassment is a continuing problem in the workplace that continues to gain greater visibility in our society. In this online CPE course, an overview of sexual harassment will be given followed by statistics on the prevalence of the problem. In dealing with sexual harassment, employers must have a plan to investigate allegations of sexual harassment. Decisions must be made on who can serve as a neutral investigator and the techniques they must utilize to gather evidence in order to reach an informed decision on the allegations made by a complainant. In making a decision on the truthfulness of the sexual harassment claims, the investigator must be able to write a report that describes the techniques used to investigate the allegations and the evidence used to justify the recommendations and actions taken while measuring the credibility of those interviewed.

The online CPE course will also look at when it is appropriate to use private methods like mediation to resolve sexual harassment claims outside of court. During the continuing professional education webinar, the Four-Phase Process Model and Settlement Process Models of mediation will be examined to determine how and when these models of mediation can be used to resolve these claims. A look will also be taken when mediation is not the answer and litigation in the courts is needed to resolve these issues.

Major topics highlighted in this online CPE webinar:

• The laws pertaining to harassment and discrimination.
• How to conduct a neutral, comprehensive, and fair investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct in a corporate setting?
• Planning about who will investigate and what evidence needs to be collected.
• Risk management with the proper investigative process.

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